The Future of Infinite Stratos
by Flashfire Freak
Summary: When Gaige from Borderlands shows up in a custom made IS, she confuses and excites everyone. But will her custom IS dictate the world of fourth generation and newer models, or is it one of a kind? Will combat be the same ever again? Rated M for increased language and some corpses/people being killed.
1. The Beginning

Beta: None  
Original release date: 7/26/15

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Borderlands and Infinite Stratos universe. Obviously this is Alternate Universe. This story includes characters from any of the Borderlands Games, some that may be in the Pre Sequel [and not everyone may have played it yet], and may contain spoilers. As almost always, this is Alternate Universe because of my imagination may run away with this.

* * *

Tightening the last nut on her IS, Gaige wipes off her forehead as she inspects her work. Multi-shielding with four individual shields from Pandora covering the area that the pilot occupies, with a modified Torgue rocket launcher, an unbranded laser weapon, and an unbranded and modified SMG. Jumping into the IS, Gaige begins running tests, varying from weapons tests, system checks, and the likes. Two hours later, and still somewhat covered in sweat, Gaige exits and begins looking over the data contained on a tablet, before smiling.  
"Will it work?" inquiries a feminine voice.  
Nodding her head, Gaige replies, "The accuracy of the laser weapon is off by 7.6 percent, but a 92.4 accuracy isn't too bad. Every other test was successful."  
"GOOD! NOW GO AND BRING EXPLOSIONS TO EVERYONE!" declares a familiar masculine voice.

"Get in the IS and prepare to be launched to Earth" states the female speaker.

Entering the IS, Gaige follows the large form of Mr. Torgue and the new leader of the Vault Hunters, Lilith to Helios Station's Moonshot canon, entering the round itself, for the IS being too large to be stuck in the standard shipping container. Engaging the onboard life support system, Gaige gives a thumbs up, before being fired out of the canon, heading for the center of the IS Academy grounds.

Monitoring her heart rate on the screen in front of her, Gaige notices the increasing breathing pattern, begins to focus on slowing her heart down, despite having an estimated ten more minutes of available oxygen.

Beginning with an empty seat in the classroom, Maya swallows nervously before introducing herself to the almost entirely female class. Starting the self-introductions, Miss Yamada calls out, "Smith, Gaige" right before a large object collides with the ground just outside, visible to all.

Hurrying over to the window, everyone peers at the large bullet shaped round partially buried in the dirt, including Miss Yamada, as an unidentified, oversized, dark green, suit of armor-like IS machine exits before standing idle.

In the IS with various Torgue markings around it, Gaige pauses just outside of the Moonshot round as she reruns various quick tests, now on a planet, and answers her in-ear communicator which is tied into the IS unit's communicator.  
"You know full well that we need information about our missing…cargo and personnel" reminds Lilith.  
"AND DON'T FORGET TO MAKE EVERYTHING EXPLODE!" adds Mr. Torgue.

Smiling, Gaige replies, "Understood. Gaige out", before turning her sight towards the academy. Spotting a bunch of faces in all of the surrounding windows, the IS begins facial recognition and in seconds delivers a report indicating which classroom she should be at, based on previous assignment. Looking at the data, Gaige growls as her primarily defensively based IS didn't have the power to get more than a dozen or two feet off of the ground for more than fifteen seconds. Exiting the unnamed IS, Gaige quickly gives instructions to the unit to find out where it was to be stored, and to learn everything it can around it.  
Walking towards an entrance, Gaige smiles as her not very average IS begins its task. Knowing that her unit was the only one with a hybrid Operating System, working and merely assisting the pilot when the pilot is inside and operating it, the IS also has a self-learning AI system which operates in various ways, one of which controlling the unit and dodging incoming attacks if the pilot suddenly becomes incapacitated, alongside learning the different combat styles of opponents and how to better defeat them in battle, amongst other tasks.

Taking a few deep breathes, Gaige mentally prepares herself as she nears the classroom she should have been in seven minutes ago. ' _I am now Gaige Smith, freshman IS pilot at an all girls' academy, with only one known male pilot. Pandora is to be all but forgotten. I am a pilot from America, shot towards the ground for testing purposes only.'_ Entering the classroom, Gaige bows to Miss Yamada, apologizing for being late.  
"I-it's alright Miss Smith-" begins Maya before a silent Chifuyu interrupts, "And for being late, you get to do your introduction in front of everyone."

Remembering that the individual behind her had won the first Mondo Grosso, Gaige rises from her bow and smiles before jumping in, "I'm Gaige Smith, but you can call me Gaige. I'm an engineering genius according to my few friends, and I hate people who bully others and those who steal my intellectual property", with a hard glint in her eyes with the last portion.

Taking the only seat, Gaige is surprised when Chifuyu's eyes are focused solely on her, and prepares to reply when the inevitable question comes, "Miss Smith, do you mind telling me why your IS currently wandering around the campus, making inquiries about accommodations? And why it is able to do so as well."

Smiling, Gaige replies, "I assumed there is a main location where everyone's IS is stationed at when not in use, and to your second question, it is a new model, a test model you might say, with a hybrid OS that works with or without a pilot inside."

"Well now, that is most interesting. Is Dr. Shinonono aware of such an IS is under your command?" inquiries Chifuyu, voice still cold.

"Tabane works with us at our facility. She loves our variety of equipment and to tinker around with everything. Although she holes up in the Research and Development department for days on end" replies Gaige sweetly.

"And where do you get off calling my sister by her first name?" growls a now standing and angry Houki.

"Considering that I've worked side by side with her on many projects, and that we refer to each other by first name, I think that is reason enough" replies Gaige.  
"Ha! You're just some wanna be genius" declares Houki, arms crossed.

Smirking, Gaige wordlessly summons Death Trap who just hovers beside Gaige, analyzing everyone, waiting for any attacks.

"My word, what is that…thing?" declares a feminine British voice.

"He is Death Trap, my BFF and personally built robot. With digistruct claws, the ability to cause explosions just by clapping, the ability to restore my shield energy, and with a laser from his eye, he is the ultimate companion" replies Gaige.  
"ENOUGH! Now, we need to get a class representative. Any nominations?" announces Chifuyu.  
"I nominate Orimura" suggests one girl.  
"I agree, Orimura should be the rep" speaks up another nameless girl.  
Slamming her hands onto her desk, the British girl speaks, "I, Cecilia Alcott, will not stand for this! This male can not possibly be representative of an all girls room, especially as I am England's Representative Candidate."

"I, uh, want to reject the nomination" speaks the lone male in the class, identified as Ichika Orimura by the dossier that pops up on Gaige's personal tablet screen.  
"Once nominated you are unable to remove said nomination" declares Chifuyu.  
A quiet voice speaks up, "I nominate Gaige" before the speaker's head falls to the desk in apparent sleep.  
Grinning, Gaige speaks up, "Then I nominate Shinonono. She must have some sort of skill."

"Alcott, Orimura, Smith, Shinonono then. Any other nominations? No? Then Monday we shall have a battle to see who becomes the class representative" announces Chifuyu.  
"Ma'am, may I recommend a team match, between Orimura and I against Alcott and Shinonono" inquiries Gaige quietly.  
Pausing to think it over, Chifuyu replies, "Next Monday, tag team match of Alcott and Shinonono versus Smith and Orimura. I believe Arena 3 will be available for this match. On to the lessons."

The rest of the day progresses calmly, without any major conflict between Cecilia and Gaige, resulting in a productivity and informative day for everyone else.

* * *

Author note: As expected, this may take some characters out of their normal tone and while I'll try to limit it, I can't promise anything. The abilities of Death Trap will expand further and further as I continue to level my Gaige character up on Xbox One and/or 360.


	2. Modifications

Beta: None  
Original release date: 8/2/15

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Borderlands and Infinite Stratos universe. Obviously this is Alternate Universe. This story includes characters from any of the Borderlands Games, some that may be in the Pre Sequel [and not everyone may have played it yet], and may contain spoilers. As almost always, this is Alternate Universe because of my imagination may run away with this.

* * *

Chapter Two – Modifications

Reviewing the data on her tablet, Gaige scrolls slowly through the data about her IS, Harbinger. Sighing, Gaige looks up and down Harbinger, trying to decide what to remove or modify to decrease the weight. Standing like a much larger version of a suit of armor, Harbinger, dark green all around, no wings, stands still.

"Operator, removing most of my chest plate and limiting available weapon slots from 64 to 16 should greatly increase aerial combat mobility" states Harbinger in a mechanical voice, clearly lacking any emotional tone.

Swiping and typing on the tablet, Gaige doesn't look up when Harbinger speaks again, "Operator, limiting overall shield capacity from 10,277 to approximately half would decrease the need for energy storage for secondary power system by 66%."

Exhaling loudly, Gaige replies angrily, "But I want you to be the most badass unit out there! Cutting your shields to even five thousand would—"

"Would still be far greater than all other observed unit's capacity of approximately eight hundred" replies Harbinger.

"Cutting shield capacity in half, and then prioritizing regeneration sectors based on the amount of recent hits, overall strength level, and location can cut another ten or fifteen percent off the needed capacity off" murmurs Gaige typing some.

"Operator—" begins Harbinger before Gaige interrupts, "Just call me Gaige."

Processing the information, Harbinger begins again, "Gaige, even with a decrease in weight, I will still require wings for more optimal flight."

Mind buzzing with thoughts, Gaige types out and sketches out objects on the screen intently for many minutes before murmuring, "This should work quite well. Removing your head should be enough compensation for some wings."

Looking at the multitude of spare parts, scrap metal, and tools, Gaige closes her IS cubicle off from the rest of the ward and begins the adrenaline fueled process of modifying Harbinger to have wings, lighter, and still competent in all aspects of combat.

Meanwhile, Ichika looks at the piece of paper in his hands and at the room number on the door, confirming that they do match before cautiously entering the room. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, not hearing anyone in the bathroom, Ichika sits on the bed nearest to the window, enjoying the peace and quiet. Readying for the next day, Ichika locks the door with the meager door lock and gets into bed, perplexed that his roommate, if he even has one, hadn't shown up yet.

Glancing at the clock screensaver on her tablet, Gaige notes the time before resuming her work, determined to finish before class begins. Hours later, Gaige finally sits down and looks over her work, happy at the results. Gathering up the parts left over that came with her from Helios Station, Gaige adds them to her magical pack, with the weight seeming to no longer be an issue. Setting up a full system scan with the heavily improved Harbinger, Gaige exits the room quietly, determined to use one of the public women's bathhouses before grabbing breakfast.

Grabbing some of whatever food was available, Gaige sits down at a small two or three person table, enjoying the current relative peace of only handful of students in the cafeteria yet. Focusing only on her thoughts and eating, Gaige misses Ichika speaking.

"Huh? Can you say that again?" states Gaige, finally shaken out of her thoughts.

"I asked, do you mind me sitting here?" repeats Ichika.

"Yeah, sure" replies Gaige before returning to what's left of her meal.

After two or three minutes of silence, Ichika asks uncertainly, "So, we're teammates in a class representative match. But I don't think I'll be much help, seeing as I barely know how to pilot an IS."

Eyebrow rising, Gaige snorts before replying, "Then you can learn with Harbinger. It can accept three different pilot's data before having to remove one from the system."

Deadpanning, Ichika blinks rapidly before finally saying, "And you're fine with letting me use your IS? Is that even possible?"

Finishing her meal, Gaige answers, "Of what I understand, most units can only handle a single pilot's data in their system at any given time, other than the default setting. However, Harbinger is different in that it has four overall settings, one of which being the default setting which can't be removed, and the second being my settings. That leaves two other slots, a total of three, for pilots to be entered and removed from the system at any given time. With that in mind, Harbinger isn't your standard IS, with a primary and auxiliary energy system, with the standard IS system, alongside a standalone system that operates with a missing IS core or an inoperable one. The computer can also assist in aiming weaponry, although I don't use that, so I'm not certain if it is really functional or not. There are also sixteen at maximum, weapon slots that you can use, assuming all sixteen have weapons."

Eyes widening in surprise, Ichika asks hesitantly, "Will you help me train after class ends?"

"Might as well. And if you need an IS, I can send a request to have one built similarly to Harbinger for you."

"Wait, you can get one built just like yours for me?" inquiries Ichika.

Smirking, Gaige answers, "Certainly. I have the schematics, all I need to do is upload them to the mainframe at the manufacturing station, and then it should be able to build you one in just twelve hours, unless there is a parts shortage. The only potential issue I foresee is the lack of a true IS core, but even the AI should be fine enough to operate the unit on. And if you create the data on mine, we can send a copy to your unit, making it fit for battle within minutes."

Smiling, Ichika says, "Then let's do that. Beats a training unit I bet."

"Do what?" inquiries a steely cold voice behind Ichika.

Turning around in surprise, Ichika and Gaige see Chifuyu standing behind Ichika, arms crossed.  
"I'll say it again, do what?" repeats Chifuyu.  
"To make a copy of Harbinger, my IS, and give it to Ichika to use" replies Gaige.

"And this would be with an IS core and not just some silly AI mode?" asks Chifuyu in a cold tone.

Pulling out her communicator, Gaige quickly gets an answer from the last person that Ichika and Chifuyu would have expected to hear, "Hihihihi, It's Tabane Shinonono! How are you, Gaige?"

Smirking at the disbelieving faces Gaige replies, "Just fine. I was wondering if we could build a second IS unit like mine within a few days for Ichika Orimura."

"For Ikkun? Certainly Gaige. Just send the updated specs of Harbinger, as I know you've been messing with the configuration" replies Tabane in a singsong voice.

Typing and tapping a few items on her tablet, Gaige says, "Sent. Mind setting three or four more SMG's to be made as well? Maybe redesign the sword I've got and give Ichika's unit two alongside the two SMG's. Maybe he will make good use of the Gunzerker mode."

"I expect great battle results from both of you. I'll send it via Moonshot Cannon when it's ready" teases Tabane, before ending the call.

In the time of speaking with Tabane, Chifuyu, Ichika, and Gaige hadn't realized how quiet the cafeteria had gotten, all very curious to listen in to the now very public conversation.

Looking at the time, Chifuyu barks, "Finish your meals immediately! You've got seven minutes before classes begin!" storming out of the cafeteria afterwards.

Standing up, Ichika takes Gaige's dishes alongside his back to the counter to be cleaned. "I'll get the dishes seeing as you're getting me my own personal IS."

Entering the classroom, Ichika and Gaige take their respective seats when Chifuyu and Maya enter, and Chifuyu states, "And to kick off this second day, I want to see a match example from Alcott and Smith. We will all make our way to Arena 4, the smallest arena, and watch how experienced, or not, our two personal IS unit holders are."

Checking the status of Harbinger, Gaige replies, "The last system check is all green lights. I'm game."

Not wanting to be beaten, Cecilia responds likewise, "I'm good at any time, ma'am."

Arriving at the arena, Gaige summons Harbinger, immediately connecting and flexing Harbinger's arms, verifying that mobility was as good as the report stated.

"Pilots, begin after the tone" announces Miss Yamada right before a loud tone is heard.

Shooting into the sky, Cecilia materializes her rifle, and in a message to Gaige taunts, "And prepare to be defeated, Smith."

Not bothering with a response, Gaige grins as Harbinger rockets into the air, while arming itself with the modified Torgue rocket launcher before stating, "And you underestimate the modifications that I did overnight", before firing three rounds in rapid succession.

Cecilia zooms out, dodging the rounds easily before taunting back, "Is that the best America has?"

Smirking, Gaige activates Gunzerker mode and with an SMG in her left hand and a laser weapon in her right before laughing, weapons firing and constantly discharging as she follows Cecilia, knocking off copious amounts of shield points, before stopping as the laser weapon's energy supplied had dwindled. Looking at both sides of Harbinger in the now removed chest plate, Gaige smiles as the wings are holding up, in addition to the secondary purpose of collecting solar energy to fuel the auxiliary energy system.

"Got you!" shouts Cecilia, having hit Gaige with the four roaming bits.

Smiling, Gaige replies, "And there goes my shield, restoring itself. Gotta hit me harder than that."

Hearing the announcement that Harbinger could restore its own shields, the class spectators begin to whisper to each other about this new development.

Noticing that the auxiliary power supply was at best half, Gaige aims the SMG towards Cecilia before zooming in another direction, keeping the pressure up on Cecilia. Flying away, Cecilia mutters to herself, ' _Her shields automatically restore themselves?! What generation IS is she using? England needs this technology.'_ In talking to herself, Cecilia has failed to keep up with Gaige before hearing Gaige speak, "And it's over" before feeling a large impact behind her, causing Blue Tears to fall from the sky, tumbling over itself as it free falls towards the ground.

Growling that Cecilia could be injured because she had not paid attention to Gaige's position, Gaige hurriedly directs all possible power to the thrusters, rocketing towards the ground before engaging an impact lessening barrier from Harbinger's hands, catching Cecilia as gently as she could. Setting Blue Tears on the ground, Gaige jumps out and looks over Cecilia, while Harbinger holds an arm and moves it over Cecilia's form, before doing an entire IS scan.  
"Gaige, no critical damage dealt to IS frame, pilot only unconscious" reports Harbinger.

"Stand back" shouts Chifuyu before being helped by Maya in taking Cecilia to the nurse's office. Passing by the gathered students, Chifuyu grunts, "Go the classroom and wait for me there. NOW!"

Arriving in the classroom, Chifuyu states, "And with that demonstration, I will base the rest of the time on what went right and what went wrong. And I expect EVERYONE to be taking thorough notes."

* * *

/*the next day*/

Entering the class, Chifuyu places her hands on the podium before announcing, "The teaching staff have decided that based on new advancements in IS technology, all IS units current and future will be placed under restrictions including but not limited to shield capacity and shield regeneration. Also, all weapons will be tested and either allowed or banned to be used in competitive matches. Everyone with a personal IS will be subject to this, in addition to all training models."

Stepping back, Chifuyu lets Maya begin teaching when the sound of a large object slamming into the ground, almost exactly the same place where Harbinger had landed, is heard. Rushing to the window, almost everyone, minus Gaige, stop and look at the similar looking IS unit exiting the Moonshot round. Different on more than just looks, which reveal a blue IS, trimmed with white and gold, the unit announces with Tabane's cheerful voice, "Ikkun! Your own IS is based on Gaige's Harbinger, but yours is called 'Sentinel'. With dual energy swords using the secondary power system designed by Gaige, Sentinel can be a heavy hitting close combat unit, armed with a pair of SMG's based on the Harbinger's arsenal, but with higher weaponry output using brief pulses of energy, also from the secondary power system."  
Sentinel turns to the rough direction that Gaige is in before also announcing, "And Gaige, I tweaked your rifle design before creating two long distance rifles, just for you!~ But Ikkun might just beat you in combat, hehehe!"  
Gaige's finger fly across the virtual keyboard as she begins hitting Harbinger and of course Helios Station to find out any information regarding any other tweaks that Tabane had made to Sentinel to make it different from Harbinger. Getting nothing back other than 'Access Denied' screens, Gaige's eyebrows furrow as she begins instructing Harbinger to learn everything it can about Sentinel, before activating the tertiary processing system, left out on purpose from her schematics sent to Tabane.

Class resume without any more interruptions, and throughout lunch, Gaige sits quietly as she contemplates the similarities and differences of her Harbinger, Ichika's Sentinel, and Cecilia's Blue Tears.

* * *

Author note: I'm not good at mimicking the dialogue patterns of the characters, especially Tabane. But I'll try to do so, without copying dialogue from the anime or any other source. I've had this idea since about the time I released 'Vault Hunting Hogwarts', but I didn't like the original first chapter, so I decided to rewrite it and it is now what it is.


	3. Team Work

Beta: None  
Original release date: 8/16/15

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Borderlands and Infinite Stratos universe. Obviously this is Alternate Universe. This story includes characters from any of the Borderlands Games, some that may be in the Pre Sequel [and not everyone may have played it yet], and may contain spoilers. As almost always, this is Alternate Universe because of my imagination may run away with this.

* * *

Chapter Three – Team Work

As classes finish, Ichika nervously comes to Gaige's desk and asks, "Um, would you like to help me use my IS?"

Remembering that she and him are partners in the following week's class representative match, Gaige sighs before replying, "It would be best to. Are you busy for the next hour or so?"

"I am."

Nodding her head, Gaige answers, "Then let's try to grab an arena and run some basic system tests before we fight."  
Turning white, Ichika gulps before replying, "F-fight? Each other?"

"Yes. If I know Tabane as well as I think I do, she'll have made modifications to the system, but through combat and general use, Sentinel will respond to you and learn how you do things, becoming more responsive than you using an IS for the first time."

"O-oh, that makes sense. Then let's do this!" states Ichika more confidently than he felt.

Smiling, Gaige looks down at her tablet as Harbinger alerts her that two sniper rifle style weapons have been added to the arsenal. Making their way to a practice area, word spreads of the upcoming practice match like wildfire between the girls.

Entering the arena in their respective IS, Gaige and Ichika are stopped by an announcement from behind them, "And you two will be the first two pilots to have your weapons tested."

Looking behind them, Ichika straightens as he notices Chifuyu standing there, arms crossed.

"Yes ma'am" answers Gaige before equipping her sniper rifles and looking down the sight as a large and rectangular device, easily twice as tall and wide of a normal human being, appears at the other end of the arena.

Without second thought, Gaige discharges the gun, before switching to the other, waiting for a green light to activate on top of the box before discharging the second weapon, switching through all of her equipped weaponry without saying a word.

Pressing a few fingers to an earpiece, Chifuyu speaks, "Smith, you are clear to use all but that last weapon, a rocket launcher if I remember correctly, in a competitive match."  
Turning to Ichika, Chifuyu stares expectantly before asking rhetorically, "What are you waiting for, Orimura? Follow Smith's lead."

"O-oh, yes ma'am" replies Ichika before clumsily discharging his two guns multiple times before finally landing a hit.

Having seen the output of Ichika's weaponry, Gaige isn't impressed with the modifications that Tabane had made, noting that even though there was a fifteen point damage increase, that fifteen points is barely anything.

"Ma'am, Ichika and I still have our swords that we haven't tested" reminds Gaige.  
The barest flicker of a smile crosses Chifuyu's face as she says in a seemingly bored tone of voice, "Then fight each other until your shields are gone."

Smiling, Gaige inquiries, "Should Ichika and I fight with our shields unrestricted, or at the one thousand point mark?"

Pausing for a few moments, Chifuyu answers, "Unrestricted. Show our spectators what you can do. Of course teach Orimura how to use his IS, as he seems mostly clueless in class."

Stretching, Gaige pulls out a single energy sword, with Ichika wielding only a single one of his as well. With only Harbinger and Sentinel in the arena, Gaige turns off the maximum shield restriction, indicating that Ichika does as well. With both units ready, Gaige pushes her boosters to half power, still a considerable speed compared to the widely manufactured IS units, swinging the sword down towards Ichika.

Parrying her blow, Ichika swings upwards, attempting to take a bit out of Gaige's shield. Performing a backflip, Gaige dodges the strike, swinging her sword towards Ichika's left side, missing as he parries again. Five minutes later, Gaige pushes her boosters again, fueled by the constantly charging secondary energy supply, brings her sword down towards Ichika's head, before being blocked again. A single whistle indicating an attack stops Gaige as she quickly performs a front flip over Ichika as his left arm swings his second blade around Gaige's waist.

Noticing that they were both around the 4,800 mark, Gaige growls softly, before quickly equipping a sniper rifle in her left hand as she retreats across the arena, firing shot after shot at Ichika, the sword at the ready as he comes zigzagging across the field, missing a majority of the rounds. Waiting until the last possible second to dodge, Gaige does a front flip over Ichika as his right hand sword grazes the protective barrier. Stabbing her blade into the back of Sentinel, Gaige smiles as two hundred points drop from his shield, before he swings at her with both swords, pushing her across the arena as she successfully defends herself repeatedly from both blades.

The sound indicating the match is over echoes throughout the arena, causing confusion between the combatants and spectators alike.

"This match has been concluded due to no clear victor" comes the announcement.

Exiting their IS units, Gaige and Ichika stride over to Chifuyu as she enters the arena.  
"As it seems you two are fairly even in close quarters combat, I have ended the match. If in twenty minutes you can not manage to damage each other than four hundred points, roughly half of the damage of a normal IS, then either your skills are just that good, or pathetic as it might very well be. You may have advanced units, but your skills need improving."

Leaving the arena, Ichika remarks, "That…that was much easier to do than it seems like in class."

"It just feels…more natural, does it not?" comments Gaige.

Nodding his head, Ichika answers, "It does. Though you had some really nice maneuvers, flipping over the enemy's IS was genius."

Smiling, Gaige replies, "And it's something like that that can assist in matches. Think you are more ready for our tag team match against Alcott and Shinonono?"

"I think so. But what happens if we beat them? Do we face off against each other?"

Pausing to think Gaige responds, "I'd think so. But considering that I was getting pushed back by you with close quarters combat, I believe you'd win."

"I guess you're right."

Nearing the dormitories, Gaige states, "I haven't actually been in my room yet. Are the rooms nice?"

Thinking of his room, Ichika answers, "I'd say so. Not the same as being in your own bedroom, but still very decent. But why haven't you been in your room yet?"

"Some times I sleep where I do my engineering, a bad habit I've picked up."

"It still surprises me that you built your IS all by yourself" remarks Ichika.  
"Other than the core, that is correct. But I just love designing things from the ground up, build them, and maintain them. It's just such a passion of mine."

Reaching the floor that Ichika lives on, Gaige adds, "I'm going to stop and see my room, possibly my roommate, and then head back to work on Harbinger. Had a few ideas during our match, and want to get some feedback from Harbinger."

Looking at the number on the door, Gaige is surprised as Ichika unlocks the door and opens it before blurting out, "How did you know this is my room?"

With a confused look on his face, Ichika replies slowly, "This is my room."

Pulling out the official document, Gaige shows Ichika that in fact she shares the same room before Ichika comments, "That would explain why I haven't seen my roommate before now. But, uh, how do we handle this?"

"Handle what?" asks Gaige.

"Well, uh, it is a bit odd to have me, a boy, and you, a girl, room together."

Chortling, Gaige responds, "I've lived in a room with a guy who liked to smash things, a drunk guy who was amazing with a sniper rifle, amongst others. It honestly doesn't bother me, as long as you aren't looking at me while I change clothes."

"O-oh, if you say so-" begins Ichika.  
"Well, I'm off to begin working with Harbinger on some improvements" states Gaige, waving as she exits the room.

* * *

/*days later, the day of the tag team match for class representative*/

Walking out to see a surprising amount of people, Gaige puts that aside as she joins Ichika staring down Cecilia and Houki on the other side of the arena.

"Smith, Orimura, activate your shield limiters" announces Maya from her position in the control room.

Both Gaige and Ichika make certain shield regeneration is set to off and then maximum shield to one thousand, waiting a few seconds as the shields adjusted themselves before the horn sounds indicating the start of the match.

"I'll play keep away with the Brit, while you take on Shinonono" declares Gaige, equipping a single sniper rifle.

Firing off shot after shot at Cecilia, Gaige begins weaving around the ground, keeping her distance away from Cecilia, ready to jump in at Houki if Ichika requested. Hearing nothing but grunts, Gaige watches as his shield keeps dropping, before dropping her assault on Cecilia. Engaging Gunzerker mode, Gaige equips her two SMGs, unloading a constant barrage at Houki, who is unable to keep up with Ichika, now no longer playing Mister Nice-Guy by dual wielding his swords, keeping up with Houki.

Noticing the drop in her own shield, Gaige faces Cecilia, now dodging the attacks, disengaging Gunzerker mode and switching to her individual sword before engaging her boosters to get in close to Cecilia.

Smiling, Cecilia unleashes her missiles, scoring two hundred and fifty six points of damage to her shield. Snarling, Gaige equips a small and round device in her left hand, activating it as she rushes Cecilia once more. Cecilia yelps in surprise as her attacks bounce off of the sudden appearance of a shield device in Gaige's possession before exclaiming, "When did she get that?!"

Swinging the sword from the side, Gaige smiles as Cecilia's shield drops to zero, with a few seconds later the sound of the match ending as Maya announces, "Winners, Smith and Orimura."

Returning to the ground, Alcott and Shinonono begin walking back to the hanger when Maya comes across the communication channel, "Are you two ready for the final round against each other? Can your IS units handle it?"

Looking at her virtualized gauges, Gaige answers, "I'm still good to go. Just let me recharge my shields real quick."

Ichika answers affirmatively after a brief delay, causing Maya to announce, "The match between Smith and Orimura will begin shortly."

Recharging their respective shields in under ten seconds, both indicate that they are ready to begin the next round.

"The final match will begin…NOW!" announces a different voice, Chifuyu as a guess.

Despite being more advanced and hardier units, Gaige and Ichika are restricted to one thousand shield apiece. Watching the energy flow in from her wings, Gaige equips her shield, passed just last night for combat, and a sniper rifle as she begins trading fire with Ichika.

* * *

/*start flashback*/

"Ma'am, I have a new combat item that I wish to use in the match tomorrow" asks Gaige as she stands at the door of Chifuyu.  
Narrowing her eyes, Chifuyu replies, "And why didn't you bring this up at our weapon's test?"

"Because I just finished in a few hours ago. And it isn't a weapon, just a handheld shield that regenerates based on Harbinger's auxiliary power system."

"So…it can only really be used in a defensive manner, and has a limited coverage area, correct?"

"Yes ma'am, it does."

With arms crossed, Chifuyu answers, "Show me, and then I'll make the call or not on if you can use it."

* * *

/*end flashback*/

Moving the shield with her hand as much as she can, Gaige is glad to see most of the points of damage being taken off of the five hundred point, regenerating shield, instead of her limited one thousand unit shield. Not happy with his shooting, Ichika zooms in to close in, before swinging both of his swords at her midsection, forcing her to retreat, having lost three hundred and fifty points of her shield. Quickly calculating the power draw for possibly using the shield and the sword at the same time, Gaige growls as she sees that she would only have an estimated twenty seconds at current reserve status.

Kicking in her boosters, Gaige takes to the sky, hoping to put a distance in between her and Ichika, arming herself with both sniper rifles. Discharging them with high accuracy, due in partial part of the high quality scopes and the other part being her skill in just using them, Gaige smiles as Ichika's shield begins to drop, despite him switching to aerial combat as well.

Reaching Gaige, Ichika switches to his dual blade stance, before simply disappearing from sight. Confused, Gaige looks everywhere before seeing two green blurs as his blades cut her shield energy to ribbons, leaving her at zero. With the horn indicating the match is over, Gaige and Ichika descend slowly, communicating and congratulating each other over the impressive battle they had just shared.  
In the classroom thirty minutes later, Chifuyu announces, "And your class representative is…Orimura Ichika."

* * *

Author note: Thanks to all who read, review, etc. Now, the shield that Gaige has is somewhat similar to Athena's, but it can't be thrown, no symbol marking it, doesn't gain power from being shot, etc. It's essentially a metal center covering the shield broadcasting device, with the rest of it as a visible shield portion, about five feet in diameter. In perspective, these IS units that Ichika and Gaige use are roughly twenty feet tall. I also used green for the blades instead of blue because it just felt better than using the original sword. These are also not katana's [although I'm not a sword master]. They are more of a cross shaped sword than curved at the hilt. One last note, I've since begun my new job and for the foreseeable future I will be busy with it, so releases might be somewhat slow. But I do expect to have a chapter of something that I've written being released weekly, even if it isn't for this fanfic.


	4. Sudden Appearance

Beta: None  
Original release date: 9/6/15

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Borderlands and Infinite Stratos universe. Obviously this is Alternate Universe. This story includes characters from any of the Borderlands Games, some that may be in the Pre Sequel [and not everyone may have played it yet], and may contain spoilers. As almost always, this is Alternate Universe because of my imagination may run away with this.  
I also use Ling instead of Fang or Rin.

* * *

Chapter Four – Sudden Appearance

Late into the evening after fighting and losing against Ichika, Gaige sits beside Harbinger, watching footage of the match over and over, alongside checking all sensors during the time Ichika had been invisible.

"Harbinger, you don't have a thermal imaging camera or sensor, do you?"

"No such device is installed or attached on this platform" replies Harbinger in its deep and mechanical voice.

Tapping her right foot on the floor, Gaige inquiries, "Harbinger, are there enough expansion slots on any of the three onboard computers alongside sufficient power requirements to add a thermal imaging system to you?"

"Checking…affirmative Gaige, sufficient processing and electrical power for such system integration. Warning, system would require extensive testing and combat operations for verification of zero disturbances to other systems during combat."

"Couldn't it be used as a secondary system, turned on as needed and then uses the auxiliary power system? asks Gaige, curious.

"Affirmative. On demand systems may or may not activate if insufficient power remains in auxiliary power system. Suggestion, integrate thermal imaging system, connect to visual sensors as passive detection for minimal enemy IS location verification with system switching to full thermal imaging system when visual location system unable to locate target(s)."

"But Harbinger, that would push the system to be part of the primary system and power draw" states Gaige in concern.

"Affirmative. Preliminary checks reveal no discernible power conflicts. Suggestion, set system reserve for auxiliary supply for primary system use as needed."

Mulling it over in her mind for a few minutes, Gaige responds, "What do you recommend as a system reserve percentage?"

"Preliminary check renders this as an unneeded calculation, so unable to give recommendation."

"Would five percent of the maximum auxiliary system be enough to cover any one primary system for a period of say twenty seconds?"

"Negative, estimated usage for maximum primary system draw on auxiliary system for maximum twenty seconds would be fifteen percent."

Pausing in thought, Gaige asks quietly, "Do you think that this would even work if I ever have to fight an IS unit with some form of cloaking tech? What if Sentinel has heat sinks and thus doesn't even produce thermal radiation when cloaked?"

"Unknown. Possible. Possible integration and testing for further analysis is required."

Thinking on everything that Harbinger said, Gaige wanders back to her room despite the early morning time, managing to not run into any of the staff, just in case they patrol the halls after hours.

* * *

/*the next day*/

"Today we will be watching those with a personal IS perform a 'Power Dive', alongside other practical tests. Alcott, Smith, Orimura, deploy and execute a 'Power Dive' immediately" announces Chifuyu to the entire class as they stand outside in their IS uniforms.

"Will do, ma'am" announces Cecilia as she activates Blue Tears before launching herself into the air.

Nodding her head, Gaige summons Harbinger and joins Cecilia in the air, as Ichika manually enters Sentinel. Joining the girls in the air, Ichika asks, "So how do we do this 'Power Dive'?"

Huffing, Cecilia answers, "I can't believe you beat me in the representative match, but are unable to perform a simple aerial maneuver", before zooming ahead of them into the sky.

Adding her own answer, Gaige says, "The system can show you a graphic on how to do so, assuming it has been entered into the system, which I doubt. But you'll just have to perform one with your own ability", before following Cecilia.

Watching Cecilia and then Gaige begin diving towards the ground, Ichika follows suit, much too quickly he realizes as he spots the other two executing their 'Power Dives', landing on their feet without crushing the ground under them. Uncertain what to do, how to slow his descent, and possibly other things, Ichika screams as he hits the ground, creating a crater where he has landed.

Running over to the crater and sliding down to just a few feet away from Ichika, Cecilia asks, "Are you all right, dearest Ichika?"

Deactivating his IS, Ichika replies, "I'm fine."

Running over to the crater where Ichika is, everyone, minus Gaige and Chifuyu begin asking him if he is alright or not. Snorting, Gaige quiets everyone down by saying, "He is still in his IS, although not in the best of the positions. So the impact failed to drop his shield energy to zero, alongside a very durable steel frame, which means he is just fine, other than maybe a concussion."

"Orimura, do you know how much time and money now has to be spent to fix this crater?" asks Chifuyu unkindly.

"No ma'am, and sorry ma'am."

"You need to learn how to pilot your IS, Orimura" declares Chifuyu.

Turning to Gaige, still standing at the edge of the crater looking down at him, Ichika asks, "Gaige, can you teach me how to do some advanced maneuvers?"

Crossing her arms, Gaige answers, "No. I've helped you get a nearly custom IS, helped you a bit with fighting, etc. I'll gladly provide you and Sentinel with mechanical and software support, but I can't assist you with much more, and I have some stuff to handle anyways. But I figure Cecilia or Houki would be willing to assist you."

"Of course I would be willing to teach you, Ichika. Just you and I alone after classes end" states Cecilia, smiling.

"No way! I've known him longer than you, so he'd be better off learning from me" replies Houki angrily.

"But I have my personal IS, and you do not" responds Cecilia, smug look on her face.

Snorting, Gaige adds, "And I figure Ichika would be smart enough to ask Sentinel how to perform whatever he needs to learn, as long as Sentinel gets to watch how to properly do the action. Sentinel does have an Artificial Intelligence system capable of learning from whatever it sees."

Opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water, Cecilia makes no response until Chifuyu calls out, a hint of anger in her voice, "And we're moving back to the classroom. Get a move on, or else face twenty laps around the academy, no IS assistance allowed!"

Silently the three girls make their way back to the classroom, not eager to run laps. During a break, some of Ichika's classmates ask, "Ichika, are you ready for the class representative match that's coming up in a few weeks?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that" replies Ichika, causing everyone in the vicinity to drop their head onto their desks.

"At least you have your own IS. I hear that the representative from class two doesn't have their own—"  
begins a girl before a voice interrupts, "And that information is completely out of date! I'm class two's new class representative, and I have my own personal IS."

Turning to the newcomer, the entire class goes silent before Ichika calls out clearly surprised, "Ling, is that you?"

Smiling, Ling answers, "Why hello Ichika, it's been some time, hasn't it?"

Standing up from his desk, Ichika goes over to Ling, stopping two or three feet away from her before answering, "It's been some time. So how have you been?"

"Just training to be China's Representative Candidate. How about yourself?" states Ling.

Putting his hand through his hair, Ichika replies, "Just being the only male IS pilot in the world and learning how to operate my own IS."

"Wait, you have—" begins Ling, before being rudely interrupted by a stack of papers being thumped onto her head, causing Ling to exclaim, "I'm going to kick-" before noticing Chifuyu with her arms crossed in the doorway.

"I recommend you get back to your own room, before you're counted as tardy, or even absent" states Chifuyu in a commanding tone.

With fingers flying across the virtual keyboard, Gaige quickly accesses the public IS database and representative candidates and peruses them, interested in discovering what she can about Ling's IS. Sending what she can discreetly during class to Harbinger, Gaige barely pays attention to the random chatter Harbinger creates as it reviews the documents.

Having spent much of the class time barely paying attention to her surroundings, Gaige flinches as a hand waves in front of her face, causing her to look up at the owner with a look of dislike.

"Oh good, you're finally paying attention to me" states Ichika, smiling.

"Was busy" mumbles Gaige, not happy with the intrusion.

Ignoring her comment, Ichika smiles and says, "I was wondering if you wanted to join Cecilia, Houki, Ling, and I for lunch."

Pausing briefly to think, Gaige answers, "That sounds good. I'll be busy a bit with my computer though, if that matters.

Entering the cafeteria, the aforementioned individual sit down, Gaige at the end of the three two person tables put together, absentmindedly munching on her food while her fingers fly across the keyboard, lines of code flying along the screen, disappearing as new code pushes it upwards, past the edge of the screen.

"So, Ichika, what is this that I hear about you having your own personal IS?" inquiries Ling innocently.

"It's a long story, and Gaige has a part to play in it" answers Ichika.

Hearing her name, Gaige looks over, left eyebrow raised in a questioning manner, before quickly returning back to her typing.

"What does she have to do with your IS?" asks Ling.

Having paid a bit more attention this time, Gaige answers, "His IS is based on mine, at least originally, both mechanically and software systems."

Eyes widening, Ling asks, "You have a CUSTOM IS, Ichika?"

"Yeah, I think. It arrived in a capsule that also contained some weapons for Gaige's IS."

All eyes turn and face Gaige, minus Ichika's, silently demanding answers. Sighing, Gaige begins, "The Torgue corporation frontman, Mr. Torgue, originally heard about the IS units you all have, and wanted to either build a line of them, or build accessories and weapons for them, to sell. Finding out that most IS units aren't able to use more mass produced weapons and the likes, he tasked me to design my own IS that he could build things for. Problem is, his weaponry is far too powerful for normal IS units to handle, as Cecilia found out. The overall defensive capabilities of IS units is far too low, at least when compared to Torgue weaponry and Ichika's and mine IS."

"What does that mean? I think you're just spouting nonsense" states Ling, arms crossed.

Rolling her eyes, Gaige taps a few keys before sliding her computer towards Ling, who stops and looks over the screen, eyes widening as she reads the specs.

"That was a previous configuration of Harbinger as well. I'm almost always tinkering and adjusting things with him."

"Him?!" chorus Ling, Cecilia, and Houki, turning back at Gaige.

"Harbinger isn't technically male, at least in our sense of gender, but has a masculine voice when he speaks" answers Gaige.

"Whaddya mean 'when he speaks'?" demands Ling angrily.

"I am capable of interacting with Gaige Operator through voice commands" comes Harbinger's voice from the laptop.

"Oopsie" comes Gaige, taking back the computer and typing furiously.

"Voice commands?! What kind of nonsense is that?!" exclaims Ling.

Cecilia finally adds in, " Why do you get such a thing in your IS and I, Cecilia Alcott, do not?"

Hanging and shaking her head, Gaige replies, "Because Harbinger has been designed that way. He has a hybrid OS, meaning he interacts with me and the unit, with or without an IS core inside. But without an IS core, he is more limited in combative functions, due to the sheer amount of power required for him and the rest of the IS to operate functionally."

Silence falls over the table, with everyone having eaten and it still not time to return to class yet. Starting out quietly and increasing to a more normal speaking volume, Houki asks, "D-do you think I could get my own IS?"

Wordlessly Gaige types a few things before facing the computer at Houki, Tabane's face on the screen.

"Houki-chan! And I know Gaige-chan is nearby as well" greets Tabane.

"Hi sis. I was wondering…if I could—" begins Houki.

"You want your own personal IS, just like Ikkun and Gaige-chan, isn't that right? I just know that that is what you want. What color do you want it? I'm thinking pink-" starts Tabane before Houki interrupts with, "Not pink! A dark red might nice though."

Continuing to smile, Tabane responds, "'Kay then. I'll inform Gaige-chan when it's ready. Seeing as Andrew here has the machinery building his unit currently."

"Hey! My unit was next on the time sheet to be built, and you know it isn't meant to be an IS, just to be the unit and run the hybrid OS for help around here, seeing as no one else knows how to keep the place from falling apart!" shouts a masculine voice from off screen.

Tabane faces the camera towards a balding man, glasses, neatly trimmed beard and wearing a black t-shirt. Spotting Gaige, the man's harsh expression softens and speaks, "I got your message, Gaige. Send me a list of the parts you need, and I'll see about getting them to you."

Taking back the computer, Gaige reads a newly received message that says, 'Gaige, you might want to check with your friends about upgrading their IS units with newer tech. I think Tabane is up to something, and I don't think it is anything good.'

* * *

Author note: Not many people read this, but thanks if you are. :D


	5. Incoming

Beta: None  
Original release date: 9/20/15

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Borderlands and Infinite Stratos universe. Obviously this is Alternate Universe. This story includes characters from any of the Borderlands Games, some that may be in the Pre Sequel [and not everyone may have played it yet], and may contain spoilers. As almost always, this is Alternate Universe because of my imagination may run away with this.  
I also use Ling instead of Fang or Rin.

* * *

Chapter Five – Incoming

"What do you mean that you want to upgrade Blue Tears?!" exclaims Cecilia.

Shaking her head at the response, Gaige answers, "I want to be able to scan Blue Tears and see if it is even capable of getting any upgrades that I could potentially add."

Narrowing her eyes, Cecilia asks suspiciously, "And why would I trust you to such a thing? You could sabotage Blue Tears for all I know."

Rolling her eyes, Gaige responds, "And why would I want to do that? If what I'm told is true, you'll want some form of upgrade. Besides, it would be free, at least minus getting some of the parts. But they shouldn't be too expensive, and if Andrew finds a bunch of them stockpiled, it would be free. Don't you want the capacity to be able to have more shield energy?"

"But what if you break Blue Tears? I can't simply send it to be repaired. That would make me look horrendous as a Representative Candidate."

"How about this then, I connect Harbinger to Blue Tears, get a full schematic and if something goes wrong I'll get you a new version. I have access to a tool that can build a complete IS in under two or three days, assuming all of the materials are available" replies Gaige.

Pausing to think, Cecilia asks slowly, "Would the replacement unit be anything like yours?"

Chuckling, Gaige responds, "I figure it will better than what you have currently, at least spec wise."

"Alright then. But I want to be present while you do the upgrade."

Shrugging her shoulders, Gaige answers, "Fine with me. Just don't get in my way while I work though."

Hearing two short beeps in her right right, Gaige listens as a mechanical voice belonging to some system on Helios Station states, "Gaige, your shipment will arrive in approximately three minutes. Stand clear of your current location."

Smiling, Gaige indicates to the area around them and suggests, "We should move back a distance, unless you want to be a pile of goo in a few minutes."

Crossing her arms, Cecilia states, "Not until you give me reason to."

Looking up at the sky, a nice and light blue shade, Gaige spots the barest flash of something, before pointing at it and saying, "And there is our package now. It'll land in under thirty seconds, so we have to go NOW!"

Seeing the item growing in size, Cecilia quickly comes to the same conclusion, running as gracefully as she could as the sound of something coming closer is heard, before landing causing dirt to spray everywhere.

Without having to say a word, Harbinger appears and lifts the large container full of equipment and carries it towards the academy and the varies rooms specifically for Is units to stay in. Following Harbinger, the two girls begin talking about various things.

"You don't like Ichika…do you?" asks a blushing Cecilia.

Giving Cecilia an undistinguishable look, Gaige answers, "I haven't given it any thought. Death Trap and Harbinger give me plenty of company."

Entering the room that Harbinger normally occupies, Gaige requests, "Cecilia, please get Blue Tears here, just not in them."

Minutes later Blue Tears is locked into the IS lock, allowing Gaige to inspect Blue Tears at Harbinger connects a rather thick cable into a port on Blue Tears, accessing the data inside. Just two or three minutes later Harbinger states, "Schematic information backed up. System check indicates sufficient power for extra shields, at maximum capacity. But more processing power required to facilitate VIGIL OS 1.0."

Giving Gaige a perplexed look, Cecilia inquires, "VIGIL OS 1.0? What is that?"

"That happens to be the second OS, other than what the IS core causes. Essentially life support systems, target analysis, system checks of electrical system, estimated time until auxiliary power systems are depleted, etc" answers Gaige.

"But a normal IS already has the Absolute Defense…" states Cecilia with a hint of confusion.

"You're right, they do. But with VIGIL, you get a more secure area around your body, in addition to a breathable environment when subject to an environment that has much less oxygen or other harmful substances in the air. It's how I survived when falling from my…drop ship. It was more of a live test, but it still succeeded."

Eyes growing large, Cecilia exclaims, "You mean like under water or in space?"

"Mmm, to an extent, yes. But there isn't a lot of oxygen in reserve, and the faster your heart beats and you breathe in and out, the less time you'll have before you asphyxiate."

"So there are design flaws?"

"Harbinger wasn't meant for outer space use, but with some tweaking he probably could, at least with a larger oxygen reserve."

"Then why on earth would you install an oxygen system on an IS that isn't meant for space or something?" asks Cecilia incredulously.

"Because if you fly high enough, there will be less oxygen for you to breathe, prompting the system to release some of its reserve to keep you alive. That's part of the VIGIL system; making vigil monitoring on keeping the pilot alive and well."

Blinking rapidly for a few seconds, Cecilia says, "Well, that makes sense. Add that too if you can to Blue Tears."

"Alright" acknowledges Gaige, looking at Blue Tears before placing a Pandoran shield on the right back shoulder.

Thirty minutes later, Gaige types a few commands on her computer, prompting Harbinger to forward the commands to Blue Tears, powering it up and on for testing. Looking over the two activated units details on her screen, Gaige smiles before powering Blue Tears down and saying, "It looks like the shielding increases have worked. For now they are maxed out at 1,500, but with an auxiliary power system they could be boosted to a whopping 2,500 points of sustainable damage. If you want any more capacity than that, you'll have to either allow me to strip Blue Tears down and rebuild it, or get a new IS."

"Why would I need to get a new IS or have Blue Tears rebuilt?" inquiries Cecilia clearly confused.

"While you have a third generation IS, it isn't built to the size of Harbinger and Sentinel. If you step back a little ways, you'll notice at least the height difference. In addition to height, Harbinger is thicker, wider, and weighs a lot more than your Blue Tears. This is partly to a more dense material build, alongside the extra equipment that is already installed. Without making Blue Tears much heavier, harder to pilot, etc, there are limits to what can be done to modify it. Even with making it harder to pilot, heavier, there is still a limit to what can be done. Once I install the auxiliary power system and the computer system to run VIGIL for you, that will more than likely be the most I can do, minus a possible weapon modification."

"So I wouldn't have access to everything you have?"

Shaking her head, Gaige answers, "No, you won't. The life support system should be relatively the same, as the addition of the barrier to keep the cockpit filled with oxygen and a few pounds of oxygen shouldn't matter overall. Is that not enough, or do you want more?"

Pausing before looking up at Gaige, Cecilia asks, "Can I test one of your sniper rifles?"

Moments of silence stretch on before Gaige replies slowly, "I guess. Let's grab an arena and test some stuff out. We need to make certain that Blue Tears is fully operational with the current upgrade before I'll move on to installing VIGIL. You can just leave Blue Tears with me overnight as I'll probably be up anyways."

Entering an empty arena, the two girls deploy their respective IS, before Gaige equips one of the sniper rifles before handing it to Cecilia.

"The scope is broken!" exclaims Cecilia as she attempts to look down the sight.

"The scope is a camera with a live feed to the pilot, using VIGIL as a connection point. Because you don't have VIGIL yet, you can't see anything. But I can see the feed just fine" remarks Gaige.

Pretending she could see down the sight, Cecilia pulls the trigger just to be thrown back four or five feet.

"Oh my, what recoil!" exclaims Cecilia.

Smirking in Harbinger, Gaige comments, "Most of my weaponry will have some serious recoil when compared to standard IS weaponry. It is heavier, more powerful, but not impossible to get use to."

"Could I fight you in a practice match to see how using this would be like?" inquiries Cecilia.

"Let's get VIGIL installed so you can participate in matches, as your shields will auto regenerate until VIGIL is installed or manually set not to, then we can have our match" replies Gaige.

Less than thirty minutes later the two girls step back out into the arena, Cecilia's Blue Tears finally ready for some combat testing. Looking around the new interface, Cecilia just gasps in surprise as the shear amount of information available just overwhelms her.

"Is this what you normally see?" asks Cecilia surprised.

Chuckling, Gaige answers, "A little bit more than that, but essentially yes. I made certain you could see your heart rate, and of course you can view the status of all shields, where you've taken damage at, etc. It will also alert you if the frame starts taking damage, if you have it set to continue operating after all shields have been depleted or have failed. I personally don't recommend you have that on, which is why it should be set to off, despite the fact that I have mine on or off based on if I am in Harbinger or not."

"What do you mean 'conditionally'?"

"If I am in Harbinger, it turns 'Continue Normal Operations' off when my shields drop to zero. But once I leave Harbinger, that gets turned on, just in case Harbinger encounters issues and needs to fight to survive. But I doubt that will be very useful for you for now."

"Al-alright. What is this bar mean?" asks Cecilia.

Remotely connecting to Blue Tears and seeing the screen, Gaige answers, "That is the progress bar regarding how you fight and/or operate Blue Tears. It takes your previous settings, imports them into its database and then figures out what new information is needed to work most optimally for you. Just fighting should make it continue its job. Oh, another feature you might like is that VIGIL analyzes your fights and does make some suggestions on how to fight more optimally, especially when you lose a match. Though it might take some time to get that working as it needs baseline data to use for its comparison."

Agreeing to finally start a practice match, the two rise into the air, sending waves of varying attacks at each other, trying to get a feel for the new system dynamic. After a steady twenty minutes of fighting, they both agree to end the match. Walking back to their respective dormitories, Gaige and Cecilia talk about how the match went, how it felt, and if there was anything that needed to be upgraded.

"I'll get you some stuff later this week so you can communicate with Blue Tears remotely. They'll be able to be called like normal when you need to deploy, but they can also perform missions, like Harbinger monitors for incoming enemy IS units, amongst other things" states Gaige.

"Wait, communicate with Blue Tears remotely?!" exclaims Cecilia.

"You remember when I had my laptop with me at lunch the other day, right? That was allowing me to communicate with Harbinger. With a bit of work I think I can get it tweaked to allow you to do the same with Blue Tears. Obviously you can change the voice and perhaps use a more feminine voice."

A few days later at the class representative match, Gaige sits alongside Cecilia and Houki, laptop on her lap with accompanying portable solar cell hanging off the back of the screen, with a three inch by two inch by two inch rectangle perched in the middle and hanging off the screen as well.

"What in the world are you doing, Gaige?" inquiries Cecilia as she and everyone else waits for the match to begin.

Finishing typing some commands into the shell on her computer, Gaige smiles as a window appears on screen.

"Gaige…?" asks Houki quietly.

"Yes?" answers Gaige.

"What are you doing?" asks Houki.

"Just finishing up some last minute modifications to my system, as this is the prime opportunity to test out my thermal imaging sensor and get some feedback from Harbinger on if I need to make some more tweaks or not."

"But…what's that black box with the green lettering in it?" asks Houki.

"Oh, that's a shell, or where someone enters text commands and the system processes it. I prefer it over GUI or Graphical User Interfaces as it is more precise, at least for me. I needed to be able to set up some files for the sensor to use."

Before anyone can ask anything more, the match begins with Ichika facing off against his childhood friend, Ling.

"If you just apologize, I won't completely destroy you!" shouts Ling.

Not being as terribly efficient at Gaige at giving verbal commands to the VIGIL system, Ichika rockets forward, slashing at Ling with his sword. Twirling her blade, Ling fends off Ichika before firing off blasts from her shoulder canons. Getting hit four times in a row, Ichika falls quite a distance back, switching to a single SMG, increasing the power needed to push it further away from the gun.

Trading shots for a few minutes, Gaige asks quietly, "Harbinger, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"Here is what I'm detecting, Gaige" states Harbinger, various graphs and images appearing on the screen.

Scanning over the images, Gaige answers, "It's that Ling's weaponry is outputting quite a bit of heat with each shot. And…Ichika seems to be barely creating any heat, despite him increasing the amount of power to his SMG. I have to wonder if Tabane had anything to do with—HARBINGER, get as close as you can to the field!"

"But Gaige, that will interrupt-" begins Cecilia as a thunderous crash is heard around the stadium, and a giant fireball hits the middle of the field.

Seconds later alarms go off, closing the arena off from the spectators with a heavy metal barrier. Lights dimming, Gaige ends the thermal imaging sensor, engaging the optical sensors of Harbinger who had cut it close exiting the pit before the doors had closed.

Putting on a wireless headset, Gaige hears Ling yell, "What the heck is that?"

"By the looks of it, it happens to be an IS" states Gaige calmly while typing rapidly on the keyboard.

"Wait, what the hell?! How did you join our conversation?" exclaims Ling.

"Harbinger, Sentinel, and Blue Tears are using upgraded communication equipment, and are networked together so we can speak and communicate together. Therefore I am using Harbinger's link to be able to listen and speak with you all."

"Whatever! Just don't get in my way" states Ling, beginning to move.

"Stay back! At least until we get some more details on what exactly we are facing" exclaims Gaige.

"Why should I do that?!" asks Ling angrily.

"Just before the IS landed in the arena, I got a signal stating that the…the Moonshot canon had been fired, with an unspecified payload. My guess is that this is a prototype IS that has been in development for a while."

A pause in the conversation suddenly erupts with gun fire from the now cleared smoke around the IS. With multiple more keystrokes on the computer, Gaige states, "This IS is operating on its own. Thermal imaging sensors report nothing like a human inside. This may be a newer VIGIL version though, so be careful. Harbinger, I'm overriding the lockdown on using the Torgue rocket launcher against this enemy."

"Miss Smith, what are you doing?!" demands Chifuyu over the communication link.

"I'm merely assisting in the take down of an enemy IS that may or may not be here to destroy us."

Silence fills the link before Gaige states, "I've got to end the connection. My battery is almost dead. Harbinger, I trust your judgement."

Looking around the barely lit and closed off space with girls at the locked doors trying to leave, Gaige continues sitting on the floor, computer closed, solar cells barely able to get a charge from the red emergency lights.

"What do we do now?" asks Cecilia sitting in a chair across from Gaige.

Grimacing a small bit, Gaige answers, "There isn't much we can do. Blue Tears is locked inside the building, Ling and Ichika are out there, alongside Harbinger, my computer's battery is nearly dead, and without that I can't request support from our base. We'll just have to hope that Ling and Ichika can manage against the enemy IS."

"Is there nothing more we can do?" asks Houki sitting on the floor, back to arena side of the wall.

"Unless we can gain access to the arena, not that I'm aware of" answers Gaige.

"Certainly there has to be something more that we can do!" exclaims Cecilia.

Without opening her eyes, Gaige answers, "Unless Blue Tears has a plasma torch that can cut through the doors to the arena, there isn't anything we can do. Just relax and hope that nothing breaches the protective barrier around us."

* * *

/*meanwhile in Sentinel*/

"Argh! Sentinel, what do you think we should do?" asks Ichika, frustrated at the lack of progress against the enemy IS.

"Unknown. Primary weapon systems are pulse lasers, with unknown secondary or tertiary weaponry. Shield capacity is unknown, but preliminary guess is it is equipped with regenerative shielding" answers Sentinel in a monotonous voice.

"Ichika-operator, recommended course of action is to feint towards the enemy, activate optical camouflage, followed by attacking from above while I discharge Torgue rocket launcher at the back of the unit, where its auxiliary power system is located more than likely" states Harbinger discharging dual SMGs at the opponent, receiving fire at the same time.

"But what about Ling? We can't leave her unprotected!" exclaims Ichika.

"Ling-operator can flee from the arena. That is the safest course of action" answers Harbinger.

"I'm a representative candidate! I'm not running from a match!" shouts an enraged Ling.

"Your Shenlong is inferior to Sentinel and I, hence you needing either protection or to run" states Harbinger without any emotion.

"Harbinger's plan is best. Ichika-operator, locking you out" states Sentinel.

Muffled exclamations are quickly cut off from Sentinel's communication channel, dropping Ling into a world of silence.

"Is anyone there?" asks Ling quietly, worry laced through her voice.

The seconds tick by without a response, but Ling sees the movement of Sentinel and Harbinger working in tandem, quickly overwhelmed as the sound of Harbinger's rocket launcher discharging against the back of the enemy IS. Hearing a roar from the enemy, Ling just stands there as the three IS units fight, each using the VIGIL system to dictate the movement and actions each unit takes.

"Ling, are you still there?" comes Chifuyu's voice across the link.

Relieved at hearing a voice, Ling answers, "YES!"

"What is your current status? Our systems are somehow out, minus communication."

"I, uh, have two hundred and four shield. But I'm fine" answers Ling.

"What about Ichika? He isn't responding at all" asks Chifuyu.

"I think his IS said something about locking him out, then I haven't been able to communicate with him since."

"Dammit! I don't know what Smith is playing at, but locking out a pilot is unacceptable!"

"Sentinel did say something about Harbinger's plan was the best, right before locking Ichika out. But I don't know anything more than shooting the enemy in the back" comments Ling quietly.

An ear splitting roar reverberates around the arena as Sentinel and Harbinger plunge their swords deep into the enemy, which is the source of the sound. Slowly the enemy falls to the ground, swords being retracted as Harbinger steps over the unit, thrusting its hands into the enemy.

"Our systems are back online. Good. Huang, report to Pit 2 for service" states Chifuyu in a commanding tone.

"Sentinel, never do that again! You could have gotten me killed!" comes Ichika's voice over the link.

"You were playing it too defensively, Ichika-operator. The enemy took only four minutes and thirteen seconds to defeat using Harbinger's strategy. Your strategy would have taken an estimated two hours, five minutes, and thirty one seconds to be able to defeat the enemy. While life support systems would have been just fine, that extended time of operation would be detrimental to this unit's health" states Sentinel.

"Where the hell are you taking the enemy IS?!" exclaims Chifuyu over the link.

"Unit destruction has resulted in surplus of parts for modification and replacement. I am taking them to a secure facility. Communicate with Master Gaige about part availability" states Harbinger as it walks away with the enemy IS over its left shoulder.

"Smith and I have to have a talk…once I'm done filing this paper work" remarks Chifuyu before breaking the link.

* * *

Author note: I had multiple different scenes of how this would play out, but this was the best one, or at least made the most sense overall. We'll see some more Borderlands stuff happening later, and it will be interesting, or at least I hope so. Thanks to the few of you who read, have followed, favorited, and have set up alerts about this fanfic. :D


	6. An Overwhelming Amount of Surprises

Beta: None

Original release date: 10/4/2015

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Borderlands or in the Infinite Stratos universe.

* * *

Chapter Six – An Overwhelming Amount of Surprises

Without knocking, Chifuyu strides into Ichika's room, looking around before demanding, "Where is Miss Smith?"

Looking up from his studies, Ichika answers, "Uh, probably working on her IS."

Wordlessly Chifuyu exits the room, mood indicated by the slamming of the door behind her. Making her way to the space that Gaige frequents to work on Harbinger, Chifuyu stops feet away from the opening hearing Gaige conversing with a male voice.

"Is it plugged in and connected to the network?" comes the male voice.

"Yes" comes Gaige.

"Can you read me the authorization token?"

"Sure. Let's see, uh…it doesn't seem to have one, but says it's connected to the network" answers Gaige.

"It's probably connected using an existing device's access code. Smart Tabane, get the device connected to our network bypassing standard security protocols by ripping out the NIC from some other device. Here, I'll give you an authorization token while I do a more thorough network sweep and find out what is on our network and what no longer is on our network. Auth token, HC201QWA42AJ2261."

The conversation goes silent as the sound of typing sounds before Gaige answers, "Got it. What should I make as a test?"

"Let me restrict the token to a smaller weapon list. I don't think anyone wants to hear the discharging of a weapon."

Seconds later the sound of an electrical discharge sound ending as Gaige exclaims, "It worked! This is so awesome!"

"It did make a spear, correct?" comes the male voice.

"It did. And it's sturdy."

Deciding it's finally time to confront Gaige, Chifuyu steps out into the room, surprised at the sight of Gaige tossing the spear lightly into the air.

"What are you doing, Miss Smith?" demands Chifuyu, arms crossed.

At a loss for words, Gaige just stands there before the male voice answers, "We are simply testing out some of the equipment that the rogue IS had equipped, making certain it wasn't going to simply reactivate and cause more destruction."

"And who are you?" asks Chifuyu cautiously, looking around the room.

"I am simply Andrew, the head of engineering, research and development, network services, etc, at the base that Gaige came from" answers the male voice.

"Where did the spear come from?" inquiries Chifuyu.

"From a prototype device, a mini 'Constructor' you could say" answers Andrew from Gaige's computer.

"A…'constructor'? What is that?"

"The original unit was built to manufacture an army to counter a growing military presence, of which has succeeded. However, this prototype unit is much smaller and I believe only able to construct handheld weaponry, instead of full sized robots designed for combat. Gaige, I do believe it would be safe to equip Harbinger with the Mini-Constructor for testing purposes. I'd personally love to see if future generations of IS units can be set with one and simply just purchase licenses for company specific weaponry and construct it on the fly. Forward me the results of any and all testing, please" states Andrew, ending the communication.

Looking at the arm sized Mini-Constructor, Chifuyu asks, "It can't create actual robots…can it?"

"Its brother can" answers Gaige, typing a few commands on her keyboard, creating a miniature version of Harbinger's rifle, aiming down the sight, spinning in place and discharging the weapon immediately at Harbinger.

Numbers fly to the screen, indicating the amount of damage dealt by the smaller version. Considering the numbers in her head, Gaige smiles before saying, "Harbinger, please retrieve and get authorization to build an IS capable version of Excalibastard, please. And please see if the Mini-Constructor has enough power to do so."

"Understood" states Harbinger.

Turning to Chifuyu, Gaige smiles and asks, "Now, I don't figure you came down here just watch me play around with technology."

"You're correct. You have a new room assignment, but by the lack of any personal possessions in the room you did share with Ichika, I assume you lived and slept in this room?" inquiries Chifuyu, eyebrow raised.

"I do."

"Why not sleep on a bed? I'm sure it's far my comfortable sleeping on the floor, and besides which you should be where we can find you at all times" states Chifuyu, arms still crossed.

"I don't sleep on the floor, I sleep in Harbinger's arms, and he puts a barrier up to keep me from rolling out of his hands. And when you've slept on rocks and dirt, almost anywhere you can sleep is a place where I can sleep."

Rubbing her temple, Chifuyu replies, "However, for security and other reasons we need to know where you are, besides which you're paying for a bed but not using it."

"If I'm paying for it, why does it matter if I use it or not?"

"Because you just need to be out of this area, except when you're handling your IS" states Chifuyu.

"I do lots of tinkering with Harbinger, quite frequently until one or two in the morning. It'd be rude for me to disturb someone else's sleep over my desire to tinker around."

"Let's come to a compromise. You'll spend a majority of the nights in a room with someone else, in a normal bed, and the other nights you can sleep here. Four nights a week in a room, and three nights a week in here, agreed?" says Chifuyu.

Sighing, Gaige responds, "Fine. If it'll make you happy, I'll do that. Anything else?"

Narrowing her eyes at Gaige's tone of voice, Chifuyu replies, "Yes, there is. What have you done with the IS that attacked earlier today?"

"Disassembled it, assimilating its knowledge, operation data, etc, with Harbinger's, looking to see how it worked before it was shut down."

"And why didn't you allow the academy to do such a break down for you?"

"Ha! This is an unlicensed IS unit, running a version of VIGIL that had been butchered to pieces, using prototype equipment that was not supposed to be on the network, creating who knows how many weapons. I'm afraid that until the unit is entirely disassembled and tested, it should not and can not be accessed by any one else. At least without me being there the entire time."

"And why would we need you there, Miss Smith?" challenges Chifuyu.

"Because it could reactivate at a moment's notice, create a weapon, and discharge it faster than you could react more than likely!"

"Miss Smith! That is enough! You will go to your new room, introduce yourself, and be friendly with your roommate! And no, you will not be able to use one of your three days in here tonight!" announces Chifuyu.

"Harbinger, activate 'Defender' mode, finish the disassembling of this IS, and keep everyone else other than me out" states Gaige, grabbing her computer, the Mini-Constructor, and leaving the room.

Entering the room under the watchful stare of Chifuyu, Gaige stops at the sight of Ling sitting on the bed nearest to the window.

"You've got to be joking. I'm rooming with her?!" exclaims Gaige.

"Good night ladies" states Chifuyu, closing and locking the door behind her.

"Hey! That's rude ya know" exclaims Ling.

Exhaling, Gaige answers with, "I'm Gaige Smith, your new roommate. I already know that you're Ling Huang, the Chinese Representative Candidate."

Mouth open in surprise, Ling fires back, "And I bet I can beat you in a fight!"

Ignoring Ling, Gaige sets up her laptop up, typing a few commands before a projection of Harbinger appears in the air and Gaige adds, "I'm the pilot of the Harbinger unit, the one who took lead in the fight against the enemy IS when you and Ichika were having your match."

The color drains from Ling's face before she replies, "But you don't sound like the voice I heard…"

"That's because I wasn't in Harbinger. He was operating on his own as I was stuck in the stands with the others."

Seeing Ling open her mouth to reply, Gaige interjects, "Let's not argue over this. Based on my intel, that IS could have ripped Shenlong to pieces."

"Whatever. So, I guess we're roommates for quite some time then."

"Gaige, plans and authorization received for Excalibastard. Updating MC-001 with plans" states Harbinger's voice from the computer.

Wordlessly Gaige types a few commands, with an exact replica of the original Excalibastard appearing in her hands.

"What the heck?!" exclaims Ling, jumping back away from Gaige.

Ignoring Ling, Gaige aims down the sight, smiling as she puts the weapon down.

"Most excellent. Now if it can be scaled up a bit more, this will be some force to be reckoned with. Unless Miss Orimura bans it from being used in standard matches."

"So, the rumors of you being an amazing engineer are true, right?" asks Ling.

"I haven't heard of those rumors, but I did build Harbinger from the ground up, minus the IS core, and have modified him repeatedly. So in a sense, I am."

"I, uh, know this is kind of weird, but you wouldn't mind bolstering Shenlong's shields, would you?" inquiries Ling quietly.

"Just shields, or do you want VIGIL installed as well?" asks Gaige.

"Wait, you can do more than just shields?!"

"Yes. Ichika and I both have a very similar IS, and Miss Alcott has had her Blue Tears upgraded with more than just shields."

"What is this VIGIL thing?"

"It's an AI that handles the controlling of the IS in an event that the pilot is unable to such as being knocked out. VIGIL also allows the system to pilot itself, even if the IS core is removed."

"Wait, is it that thing that locked Ichika out earlier?" asks Ling.

"Just wait" states Gaige, typing on her computer and multiple long moments later continues, "Yes, it was. Apparently he wasn't willing to leave you defenseless, or at least relatively defenseless, despite the odds of the enemy IS attacking you when surrounded by two fairly equal IS units were very low. Under five percent I believe."

"Could you possibly modify this…VIGIL thing to not be able to lock me out?"

"I can do that, but if you become incapacitated, it will kick in automatically, and get you far away from the fighting if it results in that."

"Ugh, whatever. Are you still able to do it?"

Typing on the keyboard, Gaige finally answers, "Yes, it appears the parts are available from the rogue IS, and aren't going to reactivate. Possibly tomorrow I could begin, but I'd like to get this little guy installed and checked for usage. It might be something for fourth gen units to be equipped with, unless Tabane has already begun on fifth gen units.

"Fourth gen or fifth gen units?! But they just started making third gen units like six months ago" exclaims Ling.

"While not an officially titled fourth gen unit, Harbinger greatly exceeds third generation IS units in speed, weapon damage, shielding capacity, life support systems, etc. If fourth gen units haven't been developed completely yet, I figure that much of that generation will be based on Harbinger and Sentinel's data. And then I'll build myself an official fourth gen IS, if not just have to upgrade Harbinger."

"What other benefits does your IS offer over standard third generation IS units?" inquiries Ling.

"Well, Sentinel and Harbinger both can share weaponry, despite if it wasn't created specifically for their model. The weaponry essentially can be bought once and if you get a new IS unit, it should be compatible. And that's not even factoring in this little beauty here-" begins Gaige before messages appear on her computer screen with alarms going off as well.

With astounding speed, Gaige turns to the computer, reading the ever increasing amount of notifications, silencing the alarms and typing furiously.

"Affirmative. Unit Sentinel is now inoperable" states Harbinger emotionless.

"This…this just can't have been a random event. Not that many errors, not that close together, not in that pattern" mutters Gaige.

"What happened?" questions Ling.

"Probably an infection of the system in some way. Harbinger, contact Andrew and inform him what happened. Request two new IS units to be made, both with manual override AI switches, to essentially make a tri OS system, one being the standard IS OS, one being with VIGIL, and one of a modified VIGIL, just without AI access. The new IS units are to be made in this order, Sentinel and one unit just like yourself, with the proposed changes to your frame, alongside a way to use your backup data on the new frame" states Gaige, mind whirring away.

"What. Did. You. Do?!" exclaims Ling.

Turning to Ling, Gaige answers, "I remotely shut Sentinel down because of the amount of errors his system was reporting. I don't believe it was just a coincidence either, so I turned him off completely."

"So you're just going to leave him defenseless?!"

Smacking her face with the palm of her right hand, Gaige replies, "And that is why I just placed a rush order to build him another unit immediately."

"But that'll takes weeks!" exclaims Ling.

"Not with the technology that I have access to. It would be better to build another unit and I somehow fix Sentinel, than not to build another Sentinel and find out that Sentinel isn't salvageable! The more important thing is to make certain that whatever happened to Sentinel doesn't spread, as both Harbinger and Blue Tears could possibly be infected" Gaige shouts back.

"Fine, I get it. You're just being cautious."

Seconds later a male voice sarcastically remarks, "You have terrible timing Gaige. But, after getting some answers from Harbinger, I've done some checking and nothing seems to be out of the ordinary for Blue Tears and Harbinger. Sentinel had a brief second or two of some foreign message before reporting that systems were encountering errors. This was before time stamped before any messages were received by you. Anyways, to your request, I'll have Dragon model the switch, manufacture it, and then begin the production of Sentinel. But, we won't be able to use the backup of Sentinel, or rather that we shouldn't just in case. And please don't screw up any more IS units", before the call ends without any more words from either party.

"So, when are you going to tell Ichika about his IS?" asks Ling quietly, sitting on her bed.

"I'm not" answers Gaige shortly, unpacking her small bag.

"Wha-what? Why not?!"

Pausing her unpacking and looking over at Ling, Gaige answers, "What good would there be in letting such a crucial piece of information out into the world? My guess is that if it gets out that his IS is inoperable that more unwanted visitors will appear. Keeping a solid façade up should more or less deter any possible enemies, for a short while at least. Let's worry about this if we're being attacked and his new IS hasn't arrived yet."

"Whatever" states Ling.

The two exchange few words after that, preparing for class the next day.

"Attention class, we have a new student" announces Chifuyu.

Looking up from her desk covered with a few pieces of paper and of course her computer, Gaige's, alongside everyone else's eyes widen as a blond haired male enters the classroom.

"Hello everyone, I am Charles Dunois, your new classmate. I hope we can be best friends."

' _This would explain my new room assignment'_ Gaige thinks to herself.

Under the cover of her fellow female classmates squealing over there being a second male student at the academy, and that both male students are in their class, Gaige types a few things on her laptop, watching briefly as results begin to come back from the global search for anything relating to the name 'Dunois'.

"Mr. Dunois, there is a free seat next to Miss Smith in the back" states Chifuyu eliciting an affirmative from Charles who has almost every pair of eyeballs following him hungrily back to his seat.

Continuing standard procedures, the students take notes while some take brief looks at Charles while Chifuyu's back is turned towards them. Arriving finally at the lunch period, Ichika quickly makes his way to the back of the room and asks, "Charles, would you like have lunch with some friends and I?"

"Would I ever!"

Minutes later on the roof, the only two males at the academy alongside Ling, Gaige, Cecilia, and Houki sit in a circle, eating their respective lunches.

' _I wonder if the arrival of Charles is what pushed me to room with Ling'_ thinks Gaige to herself, laptop sitting beside here, open to a screen of Harbinger's system status, having told him to scour the Internet for anything relating to this new male IS pilot, alongside to do a system check on all systems for possible intrusion.

"Miss Smith, may I—" begins Charles before Gaige interrupts kindly, "Just call me Gaige."

"O-oh, ok, Gaige, why do you have your, erm, computer with you?" asks Charles.

Looking up, Gaige answers, "Because other than my ear piece, this is my link to communicate more directly with Harbinger."

"Harbinger?" asks Charles uncertainly.

"Her IS is named Harbinger" answers Ichika.

"Wait a minute, you can communicate with your IS outside of piloting it?!" exclaims Charles, a look of surprise on his face.

"I can as well" answers Ichika, tapping on his wrist band, his way to summon and interact with Sentinel. Not getting a response, Ichika taps, pauses, and taps again, still not getting a response.

In a weak voice Gaige says, "Oh Ichika, I, uh, had to shut down Sentinel. He was, uh, having some issues."

"Issues? What kind of issues?" asks Ichika confused.

"Don't worry about that, you should be-" begins Gaige before three sets of two beeps interrupt her alongside a chipper female voice coming through Gaige's computer, "Gaige-chan! I have a present for you!"

Recognizing the voice, Gaige answers in a worn out voice, "Yes? And when did you start calling me 'Gaige-chan'?"

"Oh you know, since now. Anyways, I have three gifts, one for you, one for Ikkun, and one for my darling Houki. They'll be there shortly!"

"And let me guess, whatever your gifts are, you sent them via the Moonshot Canon, right?" replies Gaige sarcastically, knowing full well that the Moonshot Canon was the only serious way to get anything off of Helios Station.

"Of course Gaige-chan! We, I mean they should be there any minute now", before ending the conversation.

Looking up into the sky, Gaige quickly notices three objects seemingly getting larger every second.

"Gifts? From whom?" inquiries Charles politely.

Opening her mouth to answer, Gaige is interrupted by Houki answering in an emotionless voice, "My sister, Tabane."

Sinking in, Charles's eyes widen as he exclaims, "As in Dr. Tabane Shinonono?"

"Yes. She's my older sister" answers Houki in the same tone.

"But why would she send gifts to you, Ichika, and Gaige?" asks Charles.

"It's because I work with her, in a way" answers Gaige.

Before any more questions can be asked, the three objects, large and rectangular shipping containers hit the ground causing the status of Harbinger to change from 'guarding' to 'moving'. Opening as if on their own, three IS units appear, only one not recognizable.

"Announcing the official fourth generation IS units! Akatsubaki, for my darling Houki-chan" comes Tabane's amplified voice from the ground below, seemingly coming from the dark red IS.

Sitting in shock at hearing that she now had her own personal IS, Houki remains stock still for a few more seconds before looking around and asking, "Did she say that it's for me?"

Typing on her computer, Gaige answers, "Yes, in addition to the network stating that the Akatsubaki is registered to you, although it doesn't give any of the system specs. Expected as much from her."

"And the redesigned Sentinel, a fourth generation unit for Ikkun!" announces Tabane, now standing outside of the cockpit of the Akatsubaki.  
"A new IS?" asks Ichika clearly confused.

Sighing, Gaige comments, "I deemed it necessary to request a new version of Sentinel to be built last night, after looking over the countless errors and figured that for the short term a newer unit would be better than no unit at all."

"Last, but certainly not least is Gaige-chan's redesigned Harbinger, also a fourth generation unit" announces Tabane.

Rolling her eyes, Gaige walks to the edge and jumps off, causing her friends to scream, scrambling to the edge of the building just to see Gaige land, causing a crater to form before she walks away, a brief shimmering light in the shape of a sphere around Gaige as she walks towards Tabane in the dirt field a little ways away from the school, near a wooded area.

"So what makes Harbinger a fourth generation IS unit now?" inquiries Gaige, hands on her hips.

"Oh silly, you had such a crucial part to play in creating the fourth generation units" teases Tabane.

Walking around the new Harbinger, Gaige inspects him before remarking, "I see. Did Andrew assist in any way regarding the integration of this…technology?"

"Of course he did. Was up for quite some time helping me build these units and add the finishing touches. But I must thank you for getting my prototype micro constructor connected and working" smiles Tabane.

Hearing a roar of mechanical proportions, Gaige and Tabane look over as the original Harbinger jumps over them, sword out and swinging down at Harbinger v2, who instantly reacts, an exact copy of the incoming sword being digistructed and equips, parrying the blow.

The student body that had begun to flow out en masse at the announcement of not one, not two, but three fourth generation IS units, despite not even six months earlier the third generation units began mass production, watching the two unpiloted IS units to continue their impromptu match. Weapon after weapon that Harbinger deploys, Harbinger v2 deploys just as quickly, each digistructed at a moments notice, causing a stalemate.

Ignoring the battle, Houki walks up to Akatsubaki, her first IS, and places her hand on it, feeling the warmth it radiated. "Th-this is mine?"

"Yes Houki-chan. Gaige-chan assisted me, as did Andrew. But I only incorporated a few small features from them, creating Akatsubaki for you, with my hands."

 _[author note: this Akatsubaki is visually the same as the one in the anime, but I'm terrible at describing things that don't easily flow through my mind]_

"Wow. Thank you, sis" comes Houki's response, clearly overwhelmed at such a monumental gift.

Looking at the battle where the original Harbinger had deployed the custom made Torgue rocket launder and Harbinger v2 had deployed a proportionally increased sized Excalibastard, aimed at each other, neither moving.

"Harbinger! Put your weapons away and come over here!" shouts Gaige stomping her left foot, causing the two robots to slowly disarm themselves, walking over to Gaige, standing side by side.

"What am I going to do with two Is units?" asks Gaige to no one in particular.

"Well, you could always loan him out, keep him as backup, do some tinkering, what have you" suggests Tabane.

Turning to the original Harbinger, Gaige states, "You are now 'Brain'. Go disassemble what is left of the rogue IS and the old Sentinel, and upload the data safely from both to Andrew."

Looking at fourth gen Harbinger, Gaige states, "And you are to be my new Harbinger. You and Brain will work together to help us take on enemies as required."

"Oh, Gaige-chan, the fourth generation version of IS brings the VIGIL system to all new units~! But don't worry, manufacturers will only be able to license your product, not actually decrypt and modify the code. Harbinger, alongside Akatsubaki and Sentinel each have version 1.1, which has 'Hivemind', the sharing of all pertinent information about any identified enemies, as well as load balancing processing, keeping the units that are fighting with lower required processing levels while units not in combat have a higher level of processing required" states Tabane in a sing-song like voice.

"Hmm" murmurs Gaige looking over Harbinger.

"Oh, ikkun! I made this version of Sentinel better than your last one in that it has the ability that Chi-chan had during the Mondo Grosso, the Yukihira Nigata."

"And you'd better treat it well" comes a familiar and stern voice.

Facing a stern faced Chifuyu, Ichika replies, "I will, Chifuyu, I mean Miss Orimura!"

* * *

Author note: The author note placed inside of the chapter is supposed to be there. Yes, three fourth generation IS units. There are more than just visual upgrades from their predecessor forms, but these upgrades will be revealed as the story develops. I thank you all who have read, followed, favorited, etc.  
And thank you, Telron, for being the first one to review. :D


	7. The Big Reveal

Beta: None

Original release date: 10/18/2015

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Infinite Stratos or Borderlands universes.

* * *

Chapter Seven – The Big Reveal

Looking up and down Sentinel, Ichika asks, "I'm confused. What's so different about this version versus the other one?"

"Ikkun, it has a different material build-" begins Tabane, rattling off various things that I didn't understand, before Gaige interrupts, "It's faster because it is made of a lighter metal, obviously lighter, an upgraded CPU for the VIGIL system, and each one should have one to two mini constructors, to build weapons on the fly."

"Build…weapons on the fly?" Ichika asks, still confused.

Huffing, Gaige answers, "Just watch. Harbinger, digistruct Excalibastard, now!"

Just seconds later Ichika and the others stand amazed at how a weapon was created out of seemingly nothing, as Gaige instructs Harbinger to discharge multiple rounds in a row.

"So Doctor Shinonono, are all fourth generation IS equipped with these…mini constructors?" asks Charles uncertainly.

"Of course! But the weapons they can build are restricted, sooo, you've got to talk to Gaige-chan" answers Tabane in a sing-song voice.

Furrowing his eyebrows, Charles asks, "Gaige, what is this about weapons being restricted?"

"You buy licenses from different manufacturers so you can create a whole host of weapons to choose from when battling" answers Gaige.

Ignoring the various questions from the others towards Gaige and Tabane, Ichika climbs into Sentinel, activating it enough to see the variety of weapon manufacturers and then the variety of weapon licenses available to purchase, looking at the different rarity, all weirdly in…colors. Ichika continue to peruse weapons, looking at accuracy, reload speed, ammunition capacity, damage capacity, even weapon type.

"Laser weapons?" Ichika asks.

Smiling, Gaige answers, "Yes, those are part of the newest variety of weapons available to be used-" before being interrupted by a deep grumbling yet still articulate voice, "But laser weaponry drains auxiliary power systems, so when my systems are depleted you will be unable to continue to use such weaponry."

"Oh! Do I get to keep my old weapons?" Ichika asks curiously.

Gaige taps a few things on her right wrist, presumably her link to both of her IS units, before answering, "Brain will collect them and bring them to you. Then I'll get them loaded into your system so you can digistruct them."

"Digistruct? What's that?"

"That's the process of creating the weapons on the fly. Sentinel will know what to do" replies Gaige.

Exiting Sentinel, noticeably more roomy than he was previously, Tabane places a white wrist cover into Ichika's hands, before walking away.

"Uh, Tabane, what am I supposed to do with this?" he asks.

"Wear it silly."

Looking down at it curiously, Ichika asks Gaige, as she normally gives me a straight forward answer, "What do I do with this?"

Shaking her head, Gaige answers, "Ichika…just take off your old IS bracelet and put the new one on. It will allow you to control and communicate with Sentinel, even if you are away from him. Unless you want to give Sentinel a female personality, which can also be done."

"Oh no, I'm fine with the personality. Just wanted to know about the bracelet. So…what do I do with my old one?"

"It no longer accesses a working IS, so I suppose keep it as memento or something. Just don't lose it" responds Gaige, walking back to the academy, Harbinger following.

Ic hika looks over at Houki who has some wrist adornment as well, but it has two bells on it. Checking the time and noticing that we barely have any time left for our meals, I call out, "We don't have much longer before we have to go back to class, so let's hurry back to our food."

Without even saying a word Gaige enters Harbinger, speeding off towards the roof, jumping out mid flight and landing like a cat on the roof. The rest of us finally arrive and finish our meals, Gaige nowhere in sight.

* * *

*with Gaige*

After quickly grabbing the remnants of her meal, Gaige heads to her next class, eager to read the results of the search for this Dunois guy. Sitting in her seat, Gaige begin to peruse the results, mostly about a corporation, and…that's it. Nothing about any kids. Typing a few commands, she lets Harbinger make more thorough sweeps, see if there is any birth certificates or something to provide any intel on this mysterious new male IS pilot.

The rest of the class enters in groups, before Miss Orimura enters, standing at the podium before announcing, "This afternoon we will have a joint practical training session with those in class two. Men, leave the room."

Ichika and Charles disappear through the door, closing it behind them. Gaige locks her computer, packing it up before resuming sitting in her seat while the others change.

"Smith! Is there a particular reason why you aren't changing like the others?" demands Miss Orimura.

Getting to her feet, Gaige answers, "Ma'am, with all due respect, I needn't change because both Harbinger and Brain have been designed to accommodate a pilot who is wearing even a dress, such as Cecilia."

The girls stop what they are doing as they look between Miss Orimura and Gaige, waiting to hear what was said next.

"Miss Smith, there are protocols to follow, and this is one of them. You WILL wear a uniform like the rest of the ladies, or you will face expulsion. Do I make myself clear?"

Sighing Gaige answers, "Yes ma'am", before changing into her dark green IS suit, outline of the suit in black.

As a class, minus Charles and Ichika, they make our way quietly down, none of them eager to incur Miss Orimura's wrath. Noticing that Miss Yamada wasn't anywhere around, Gaige taps a bit on her communicator, whispering loudly enough to give verbal instructions to both Harbinger and Brain to make a look out for her.

"For practical training purposes we will need some combatants. Miss Shinonono, I believe you and Miss Huang will-" begins Chifuyu to the two girls, as Gaige hears in her earpiece, "Gaige, unidentified IS moving in your direction."

"Who will our opponent be?" inquiries Houki.

"An experienced IS pilot" states Chifuyu, cracking a small smile.

Ignoring Ling and Houki as they deploy their IS units, Gaige stays on guard, waiting to hear about this unidentified IS. Getting an audio confirmation that the unidentified IS had landed near me, I see, surprisingly, Miss Yamada in an IS. Tapping a few things, Gaige sends a message to not deploy, not eager to find out what would happen if Harbinger arrived on site and challenged Miss Yamada.

Lifting off, the three girls soar into the air, watched by the students below.

"Error Gaige. Houki-operator attempting to deploy unauthorized rifle" comes Harbinger's voice in her ear piece.

"Are you telling me that Houki is unarmed?!" Gaige exclaims as softly as she could, backing away from the rest of the students.

"Incorrect. She has access to two swords, seemingly unaware of how to deploy them."

"Then authorize her to use a Hyperion rifle for this match, while I figure out what to do for a more permanent fix" states Gaige.

* * *

*inside Akatsubaki*

Houki keep tapping the button to…digistruct or something the weapon she chose, getting alerts about being hit, unavailable, or something. Houki thinks to herself, _'It's just so frustrating! Why does the tech have to be so stupidly complicated?'_

A pleasant female voice interrupts with, "Temporary authorization granted by Gaige-Admin. Deploying rifle 342. Thank you for purchasing Hyperion tech."

"Do something already wont ya?!" exclaims Ling over the link.

"I'm trying to!" Houki shouts back, watching as the rifle she selected finally gets made and equipped. Immediately pull the trigger, shot after shot missing Miss Yamada, but finally pushing her back a little.

"Houki, you have two swords at your command, no weapons auth needed. Just give verbal instructions to deploy your swords if you want something else. After class is over, see me and I'll get you some other weapons available for use" states Gaige.

"Ok" Houki acknowledges, seeing Miss Yamada coming right at me.

"Deploy swords!" Houki shouts, somewhat panicking.

With such speed and grace that it surprises her, Akatsubaki equips two swords, warning her about elevated heart rate. Resorting to her Kendo training, Houki swings, barely missing Miss Yamada.

* * *

*on the ground*

"She's amazing" mutters Charles.

"Who?" Ichika asks, seeing three girls in the air.

"Well, all of them, but Houki seems to be holding her ground against Miss Yamada" states Charles.

"You wouldn't know that from down here though" comes Gaige's voice from the left of Ichika.

"Why?" he asks curiously, watching the aerial battle.

"Her heart rate is fluctuating enough that Akatsubaki is considering forfeiting and landing. Medical warnings are given to surrounding units" answers Gaige.

"Wait, what?!" asks Charles clearly confused.

"All IS units equipped with the VIGIL system monitors the pilots vital signs and makes decisions based that. If this was a real battle, it may as well lock her out of the system while it fights. Considering that the Akatsubaki is designed for speed, even more so than Harbinger or Sentinel, it could easily whisk her away from combat and get her medical treatment. Even with Ichika's Ignition Boost, I doubt Sentinel could match the Akatsubaki's speed for more than a few seconds, at least without burning out most of the system. Harbinger is probably the slowest of the three, not considering any boost as a factor. Discharging the auxiliary system all at once, minus a reduced system minimum, could push Harbinger's boosters for an estimated twice to three times as long as Ichika's Ignition Boost, but would leave the system drained for more than minimal life support, network connectivity, and dodging" answers Gaige, watching the battle above as well.

"Why would you get an alert if you aren't piloting an IS then?" asks Charles.

"Because I'm one of two administrators, and I'm alerted to all critical system errors, as well as medical alerts. But it's only when the system thinks that a medical situation isn't getting better does it alert someone. Don't worry, if Houki becomes incapacitated, Akatsubaki should handle the situation just fine."

Ichika continues to watch the battle, which quickly ends when Miss Yamada rapidly scores shots on Houki from behind. After Miss Yamada and Houki land, the entire joint class is called to attention.

"Ladies and two men, as you obviously saw, you must be aware of your surroundings at all times. To help acclimate to such a thing, those with personal IS units will give a brief demonstration of simply walking, before returning. Each student will use one of the IS units to walk around briefly to get a better understanding of any blindspots" announces Chifuyu.

As Chifuyu breaks up the joined classes into groups to gather around Cecilia, Ling, Charles, Houki, Gaige, Ichika, two ISes, Gaige's, land and walk towards her.

Feeling two figures behind her, Gaige doesn't bother to look who or what it might be, as she know Harbinger and Brain wouldn't let anyone hurt her.

"Seeing as Miss Smith has two IS units available, more of you will be joining her group." Announces Chifuyu.

With only two males in the entire academy, both owning their own IS units, the girls knew that they would only have a group of girls to teach briefly.

"To begin with, I'm Gaige, and these are my two IS units, Harbinger and Brain. Both are equipped to lower themselves to allow for easier entries and exits. They will protect you if you manage to fall over, so don't worry" states Gaige before jumping into Harbinger and demonstrating walking.

Making it back from her short demonstation, Gaige jumps out, unconcerned about any fall damage, instructing the girls on how to get in and walk about, without having either AI do it for them. Forty five minutes later or so, our session ends, ending the school day. Walking to their storage room, as each student with a personal IS is given only one room, even if they have two or more units, Gaige make inquiries about results regarding system checks, the progress of tearing down the first Sentinel, now housed in her compartment as well, and the organization of all spare parts.

"Good, very good. Any news about what might have caused Sentinel to just error out like that?" asks Gaige, not caring who answers.

"Status: unknown. Still being processed by Andrew-admin" states Brain.

"Understood. Harbinger, what components don't have you that Brain does, if any?"

"List is null" states Harbinger.

"Good. Results of heat sink test?"

"Not optimal. Visual camouflage not installed. Heat sink 90% efficient for maximum five minutes at moderate usage" states Harbinger.

Gaige furrows her brows, contemplating many things.

"Is there a way to reduce emissions, or increase the size of the heat sinks?" asks Gaige.

"Turning off IS core alongside all life support systems, 95% of shield capacity, will reduce emission rate. Warning, unit strength will only be effective for passive monitoring."

With that in mind she walks over to the oversized shipping container that first delivered Brain and her here, and sift through the organized parts, looking for anything that might work to help offset heat production.

"There aren't any fans other than what the CPU module has, correct?" Gaige calls out, sifting through a box of parts on the floor.

"Correct."

"Two 80mm fans if I remember correctly?"

"Correct."

Sitting down on the cold floor, Gaige looks through a box of various fans, mostly 120mm in size. Spotting some extra material able to route air, she grab the two boxes of materials and carry them out into the room, shutting the rolling gate to her little oasis.

* * *

*in the Ichika's room*

"So Charles, I guess you and I will be rooming together from now on" chuckles Ichika

"O-oh yeah. S-seeing as we're both guys" Charles laughs weakly.

Either ignoring or not understanding any possible underlying meaning, Ichika points to his bed, the one closest to the wall and says, This is my bed. Unless you'd rather be closer to the bathroom?"

"Oh no, I'm fine with this bed" states Charles sitting on his bed.

A chirping sound from Ichika's bracelet pauses the conversation as Gaige's voice is heard, "Ichika, I've scanned your old weapons and put them into Sentinel's local weapon repository. You should be able to digistruct them at will when you're in combat", before ending the communication.

"Ichika…do you have any feelings for Gaige?" asks Charles quietly.

"Of course I do! I mean, she's my friend and has helped me with a lot things, especially with getting my own IS" answers Ichika, not understanding the underlying question that went unanswered.

"Ha ha, I see. Thank you" states Charles, unpacking a few of his meager items.

* * *

/*mean while in Chifuyu's office*/

"What do you mean you don't have a record of Miss Smith being born in the United States?" asks Chifuyu dangerously.

"It's just that. With the information you sent over to us, the person we have under that name doesn't match any of the descriptions, except for the name. When we checked the social security number attached, we discovered that it hasn't been assigned to any living being. So whomever you have at the academy isn't a real US citizen" answers the American official.

Slamming her fist on her desk, Chifuyu thanks the official for their time before ending the video call.

"Who is Smith? How did she get here, and where is she from? She'd better have some answers for me" murmurs Chifuyu, adding a brief note to Gaige's file before exiting her office.

* * *

/*in the IS compartment Gaige sits in*/

"Warning Gaige. Change detected in personnel file" calls out Brain as Gaige lays on top of Harbinger, arms messing with some part of Harbinger.

"Smith! Get down here now!" shouts a very cross Chifuyu.

"In a minute!" calls back Gaige before pulling her arms out of Harbinger and tapping a few things on her wrist as she walks across the compartment.

"Smith! The United States informed me that they've never even heard of you before. Where are you from, and don't lie to me this time" demands Chifuyu, arms crossed.

Taking a deep breath, Gaige answers, "I'm from Eden-5."

"Eden-5? I said don't lie to me!"

"She isn't" states Brain.

"Fine, even if I believe you, how did you get here?"

"I came from Helios Station, which is a floating space station in the shape of an H. That's where Tabane is as well."

Mind reeling from the shock of it all, Chifuyu asks, "How do I know you aren't lying?"

"Because Chi-chan, I'll vouch for her" comes Tabane's voice from Gaige's opened computer.

Turning to the pink haired and rabbit ear wearing face on the screen, Chifuyu asks, "Is she trustworthy?"

"As trustworthy as someone with an $820,000,000,000 bounty on her head. But considering that everyone who has tried to kill her has failed, and that she hasn't tried to kill you despite having access to superior technology, I'd say she's trustworthy" answers Tabane.

Face paling, Chifuyu turns to Gaige and asks quietly, "An eight hundred and twenty BILLION dollar bounty?! Is that true?"

"Um, yeah" admits Gaige sheepishly.

"Tabane, what were/are her crimes?"

"For being 'excessively adorable' and 'creation of unauthorized technology'" answers Tabane looking at another screen.

"Please tell me that is a joke" states Chifuyu, tone emotionless.

"Nope! It's quite funny if you ask me" answers Tabane in a sing song voice.

Looking Gaige up and down, Chifuyu warns, "If you do anything that harms a student here, I'll make certain you leave the academy."

"I understand. I won't hurt anyone who doesn't try to hurt me" answers Gaige.

"Good. Now, get to your room for the evening. You can stay here tomorrow night I suppose" announces Chifuyu, arms still crossed.

"Brain, keep an eye on Harbinger and make certain he doesn't overheat or something" states Gaige grabbing her computer and disappearing from the compartment, leaving the two IS units in the dark.

* * *

/*the next day*/

"Attention class, we have a new transfer student!" announces Miss Yamada from the front of the room.

Looking up from her computer, Gaige remains expressionless as the girl states, "I am Laura Bodewig", a silver haired girl with one eye visible which is red, and an eye patch across her left eye.

Almost instantly Gaige's computer screen lights up, searching for 'Laura Bodewig'.

"Miss Bodewig, is there anything you'd like to add?" asks Miss Yamada curiously, with a hint of pleading in her voice.

"Nein" answers Laura looking over the room, eye finally landing on Ichika.

"I can not and vill not accept that you're her brother!" announces Laura, swiftly backhanding Ichika much to the amazement to everyone in the class.

Noticing that her computer screen had changed , Gaige glances down and notices 'German Military Training' as the only quick result.

' _That would explain her uniform'_ thinks Gaige.

"Bodewig, take your seat in the back" instructs Chifuyu dangerously.

Wordlessly Laura strides to the back and sits down on the other side of Gaige. Hours later after classes end, Gaige wanders aimlessly around the campus, hearing a few beeps in her earpiece as Harbinger's voice states, "Bodewig on course to intercept Blue Tears and Shenlong."

"Understood. Lock down compartment and take Brain with you. Stay out of sight and stand by for possible interception. I have a bad feeling about this" states Gaige, hurrying towards the location marked on her map, available on her visible IS communicator.

"Stay out this, German!" shouts Cecilia at Laura, IS deployed.

"Aww, fighting over the useless Ichika?" sneers Laura.

"He's my partner in the tournament!" shouts Ling.

Within seconds snake like cables appear from Laura's IS, wrapping themselves around both Blue Tears and Shenlong, tossing them into the wall and the ground.

"Gaige, conflicted escalated" states Harbinger's rumbling emotionless tone.

"Status report?" asks Gaige, breathing heavy as she continues to run towards the arena pit.

"Warning, Blue Tears pilot condition unconscious" states Harbinger.

"Get in there and stop her before Laura kills them!" shouts Gaige, bursting through a set of double doors.

"Now you two vill die!" shouts Laura before Harbinger and Brain slice through the cables, releasing their chokehold on Ling and Cecilia.

Taking a defensive position, Brain stands in front of the two girls, attempting to contact them.

"Gaige, both pilots unresponsive" states Brain.

Having finally reached the pit, Gaige jumps out and hits the ground, continuing to run to the show down between Harbinger and Laura, both standing and waiting for movement.

"Bodewig! Stand down unless you want to get a whooping!" shouts Gaige arriving beside Harbinger.

"Vell vell, vhat do ve have here?" asks Laura sneering.

Ignoring the quip, Gaige states, "Brain, contact Chifuyu or someone in the nurse's office about getting Cecilia and Ling some medical attention. I'll handle Laura myself."

Turning to the smirking Laura, Gaige growls, "First you backhand Ichika, and now you try to seriously hurt or even kill Ling and Cecilia. It's like you're trying to piss me off on purpose."

"Vhat are you going to do then? It's you versus me, and I von't lose!"

"You're wrong. It's Harbinger and I versus you, and that's not even considering my secret weapon. I'll let you know this bratwurst, you're messing with the wrong girl" states Gaige.

"Vhat?! Fight me outside of your IS? Have you a death vish?"

Smiling, Gaige answers, "Harbinger has a 15,000 shield, when I'm in him. Remove the life support system and he can boost his maintainable shield level to 20,000. Factor in myself with a 15,000 shield myself, and I'll show you who's the top dog!"

"Bring it on" calls out Laura, reading her weaponry.

Digistructing a human sized Excalibastard, Gaige smiles as Harbinger quickly does the same, moving towards Laura simultaneously.

Smirking, Laura activates her AIC as both send their shots at the same place, with zero results.

"Gaige, Schwarzer Regen has AIC capabilities" states Harbinger through the earpiece.

"I hate to have to do this, but I guess it must be done" mutters Gaige, summoning Death Trap.

Having not moved for a few seconds, one of the cables from Laura strikes Gaige, causing Gaige to rip the fabric and cable apart with the attached knife of Exacalibastard. Gleaming like polished metal, Gaige's left arm shocks Laura long enough to be hit by Death Trap and Harbinger, forcing her to retreat.

"Eat this!" shouts Laura, long cannon appearing from her right shoulder, sending a blast at Gaige.

"ENOUGH OF THIS! BOTH OF YOU DISENGAGE!" shouts Chifuyu, having finally arrived on the scene with multiple teachers and makeshift stretchers.

"Death Trap, return to me!" shouts Gaige, causing Death Trap to return and disappear.

Eyes opening at the appearance of both Chifuyu and the unharmed Gaige, Laura growls before making Schwarzer Regen disappear. Sensing that Gaige was no longer in trouble, Harbinger disengages its weaponry, plodding over to help Brain forcibly extract Ling and Cecilia from their IS units.

"You two need to cool it. Especially you Miss Bodewig. Two unprovoked attacks on your first day, it would be a shame to send you back to Germany" states Chifuyu, disappointment heavy in her voice.

"And you Miss Smith, engaging Laura with not one but two mechanized units, in addition to taking on an IS yourself is disregarding your safety. I won't allow it" declares Chifuyu.

"Ma'am, I have a higher personal shield than her IS unit has. Even with her cannon she barely did 500 points of damage to my shield, which recovered less than three seconds later. But yes ma'am, I'll try not to do so again" answers Gaige.

"Good. Now keep this violence under wraps until the tag team tournament, understood?"

"Yes ma'am" choruses Gaige and Laura.

"Dismissed."

Walking over to Harbinger and Brain who stand by the two damaged IS units, Gaige says, "Inspect them and let me know the results. I'll let Cecilia and Ling know about it when I visit them. If it's damaged and still usable, make a list."

"Miss Smith, you aren't going to try to fix their units, are you?" asks Chifuyu from behind Gaige.

Turning around, Gaige answers, "I'm going to ask them first, then do the repairs. If they don't wish me to fix them, I'll still fix anything broken with Blue Tears relating to the upgrades it has received from myself, and then hand it over to you all to fix."

"Understood" states Chifuyu before leaving the arena.

Making her way to the nurse's office, Gaige enters and finds two conscious pilots.

"Hmm, you all don't look too bad" teases Gaige, smiling.

"Well, it could have been worse" sniffs Cecilia.

Getting serious, Gaige answers, "Yes, it could have. I instructed Harbinger to intervene when he alerted me that you had fallen unconscious. I'd like to install VIGIL to Ling's IS, if for only the medical alert and oxygen replenishing aspect."

"Fine, do it" states Ling, crossing her arms.

"Do you two want me to repair your units, or let the academy fix them?" asks Gaige kindly.

"Fix them, please" choruses Ling and Cecilia.

"Harbinger, Brain, you heard them. Get to work" states Gaige.

"Understood. Damage at level C. Estimated finish time, three days" states Harbinger.

"But...what about the tournament?" cries out Ling, longing to partner with Ichika.

"You two will be unable to participate because of your wounds" announces Chifuyu coming around the corner of the privacy curtain.

Just then Ichika arrives, Charles beside him.

"Ichika, win this for me, I mean us" states Cecilia, turning away from Ichika.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Charles, you want to partner with me?"

"Ok" answers Charles blushing.

A little later as they exit the nurse's office, Gaige says, "Charles, mind talking to me briefly?"

"Yeah, sure."

"You may be able to fool the others, but I know you're not a guy. You blush at things that involve Ichika, you have a pink hair tie, and you sit like the rest of us girls and not cross legged like Ichika. Am I right?" inquiries Gaige staring at Charles intently.

Sighing, Charles answers, "You are correct. But please, keep it between you, Ichika, and I. He already knows too."

Smiling, Gaige says, "I will, don't worry", before walking towards the IS compartment now filled with 6 units, two of which are fully functional.

* * *

Author note: So I won't really be changing anyone's IS charm/accessory. Is this new format alright, or no? I originally didn't want to give the focus to almost solely Gaige, which is what prompted this change. I did originally write this chapter in first person, with breaks switching to another person's point of view. I reflected and decided that I'd rather stick with this format unless a majority would rather have the first person view.

If any of the dialogue is from the anime/manga/light novel, all rights are reserved to them and not me, obviously.


	8. When Cannons Fire

Beta: None

Original release date: 11/1/2015

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Infinite Stratos or Borderlands universes. Also somewhat AU.

* * *

Chapter Eight – When Cannons Fire

After many grueling days of training with Charles, Ichika sits in his room, content to sip at his tea.

"Tomorrow's the day, no?" asks Charles sitting down at the table, sipping at his own mug of tea.

"Yeah" answers Ichika absentmindedly.

"Something on your mind, Ichika?" asks Charles.

"Just how Cecilia and Ling are faring after their bout with Laura. What if we meet a similar ending?"

Chortling, Charles answers, "Fear not Ichika, I'm sure if things get out of hand Gaige will assist, as will the teachers."

Yeah, she did seem pretty upset with Laura that day" murmurs Ichika loud enough to be heard by Charles.

The next the two of them change in the locker room when Charles pipes up, "They've released the matchup."

Looking at the matchup, Ichika gulps before saying weakly, "Looks like fun...you and I versus Gaige and Laura."

Gaige sighs as she discovers who her team mate is, looking at the German girl standing off from the rest of the competitors. Deploying their respective IS units and entering the arena, the two stand apart from each other as Ichika and Charles enter the arena.

"Remember Bodewig, you try to strangle either one of them, and you'll discover how much pain I can deliver to you" states Gaige to her partner.

"Vhatever. Just don't get in my way" replies Laura flippantly.

Hearing the starting sound for the round, the four contestants begin moving, Laura angling for Ichika immediately. Digistructing a rifle, Gaige begins discharging, angling to keep Charles unable to greatly assist Ichika. After a few minutes of glancing blows, Laura shouts, "You're in my vay!"

Deploying her cables, Laura quickly wraps them around Gaige, forcing Gaige to grab a sword and slice through them focused solely on Laura as her ire increases. Growling, Laura deploys her shoulder mounted cannon, discharging a blow at Gaige, who dodges.

"You know what bratwurst? I'm tired of your cocky attitude!" shouts Gaige, digistructing a similar cannon on her right arm.

"Vhat?!" exclaims Laura, caught off guard.

"Harbinger! Disengage life support systems, overcharge the cannon, and blow this rude German off of the map!" exclaims Gaige.

Maneuvering until there is barely three feet between the barrels, Laura discharges at the exact moment Gaige does, creating a colossal explosion throwing both units across the arena and creating a ten foot or more deep crater at the spot where the cannons discharged. A hushed silence falls over the crowd as neither IS moves.

Monitoring all of Harbinger's alerts and life support systems, Brain pauses as all system disappear, but worries in the following five seconds as nothing returns, prompting him to deploy. All eyes are on the field where Ichika and Charles stand there, briefly conversing.

"Do you think they're ok?" asks Charles with a worried tone.

Opening his mouth, Ichika stops as the familiar form of Brain zooms out of a pit, grabbing its rounded shield, activating it, guarding Harbinger as neither IS in the blast move.

"Ichika-operator. Caution. Laura-operator is suspected to be dangerous at this point" states Brain.

"How is Gaige?" asks Ichika worried.

"Status unknown. Life support systems went offline shortly before the blast" answers Brain, still guarding a motionless Harbinger.

* * *

/*Meanwhile, in Laura's subconscious...*/

"I've failed..." murmurs the external Laura.

"But there is still the Valkyrie Trace System...if you are willing to give yourself in to it" comes a mysterious voice.

"I do. I vill! I vant to show them all!" exclaims Laura internally.

"VT system activation" comes a mechanized voice, beginning to morph Schwarzer Regen and Laura into a new shape.

Spotting both the thermal image and optical image change of Schwarzer Regen, Brain announces with as much concern as an AI without emotions can show, "Warning, Valkyrie Trace System detected. Initiating forced lock down on arena. Increasing shield to maximum output."

"Valkyrie Trace System...what's that?" inquiries Ichika.

Shocked at Ichika's ignorance, Charles adds, "That is banned research under the Alaska Treaty! We'd better be careful."

"Ichika-operator, only you and Sentinel have the needed power to stop the VT system" declares Brain, still looking at Harbinger, keeping a sensor on Laura.

"M-me?" asks Ichika incredulously.

"Your Kendo training alongside the Yukihira Nigata should prove sufficient to end the possibly rampant VT system" answers Brain.

"How do I stop her then?"

"Killing the pilot is the most obtainable goal" states Brain.

"Kill her?! Is there any other way to stop her and not kill her?" asks Ichika desperately.

"Unknown. Insufficient data for processing."

Gritting his teeth, Ichika states firmly, "I will not kill her, I will save her."

"Understood. Backup unavailable until Gaige awakens" states Brain, continuing his vigil.

Walking forward carefully, Ichika deploys the Yukihira Nigata, watching the power fluctuations in front of him, nearing the sword wielding VT System controlled IS. Clashing, the two fight as if each move was choreographed. Sensing an opening, Ichika sweeps up, causing the VT System's sword to be flung far away, before doing a minor slash from the system's left shoulder to right hip, creating an opening in which Laura is visible.

Exiting Sentinel, Ichika catches Laura as she tumbles, both eyes uncovered. Opening her eyes and seeing Ichika's face, Laura murmurs inaudibly, cheeks slightly more red after Ichika remarks, "You have beautiful eyes, Laura."

"System cool down complete. Battery charging. Bringing life support systems online" states Harbinger, beginning to move.

Grabbing Harbinger's right arm, Brain helps Harbinger up while initiating a power transfer, energizing Harbinger. Easing her out of Harbinger, Brain releases the lockdown on the arena, carrying Gaige in his arms while Harbinger walks back to the compartment to begin repairing himself.

* * *

/*nurses office*/

"Miss Bodewig, what do you know of the Valkyrie Trace System" inquiries Chifuyu sitting on Laura's bed in the nurses office, privacy curtain drawn around them.

"I only know that it helps when piloting an IS" remarks Laura quietly.

"It is a restricted technology and research on it is prohibited. I suggest you not attempt to access it, if you know how to trigger it again that is. For your safety it is best if you forget all about it and become stronger under your own power" states Chifuyu, getting up from the bed.

"Thank you, mentor" mumbles Laura.

Stopping by where the nurse sits with a clipboard in hand, Chifuyu asks quietly, "How is Miss Smith?"

Grimacing, the nurse answers equally as quietly, "She still hasn't woken up. I'm afraid whatever she did in the arena did a number on her body. And...she has a robotic arm. "

Eyes widening, Chifuyu inquiries, "A robotic arm? Technology, even with the advent of the IS, hasn't progressed enough to make a robotic arm that acts just like a real arm."

"That's what got me concerned. She's either got something to hide, or she's not from this planet. But she can't just be a normal girl here, not with what I've seen" replies the nurse.

"Just alert me when she finally awakens" states Chifuyu, striding away from the room.

Some unknown amount of time later, Gaige awakens, breathing heavily as she looks around her walled off section of the nurse's office. Finding herself in a hospital gown, Gaige groans at the sight of her left arm clearly visible to any and all visitors who peek through the privacy curtain. Grabbing her nearby IS bracelet, she taps a few things, getting nothing before tapping a few new commands and getting a mechanical voice, "Gaige, you're finally awaken."

"Brain, what has happened to Harbinger? He isn't answering my requests."

"I am operational" comes Harbinger's slightly deeper voice from across the link.

"Run a system check on your network equipment" instructs Gaige right before the curtain is suddenly pulled back, revealing a startling amount of sunshine.

"I'm glad to see you are finally awake, Miss Smith" comes the nurse kindly.

"How long have I been asleep?" inquiries Gaige as her stomach rumbles.

"About four days" answers the nurse, coming closer with some medical equipment.

"Can I just get a new uniform and be on my way?" complains Gaige.

"Soon, but not now. I'd like to hear about this mechanical arm you have."

"It's a mechanical arm" answers Gaige shortly.

"How did you come about it?"

"If I tell you, can I get a new uniform and be able to leave?"

Writing down the results on the paper attached to the clipboard, the nurse replies, "I suppose so. So, how did you come about your mechanical arm?"

"I cut off my arm to replace it with a mechanical one" states Gaige, grabbing the uniform and quickly changing, dashing out of the room.

Stunned at the statement that Gaige had willingly cut off her own arm, the nurse notes that on the paper, before taking a shot glass and a bottle of tequila out of a cabinet, downing two shots in rapid succession.

Checking the time on her bracelet, Gaige realizes that it is barely three minutes into lunch, and changes direction to the cafeteria, eager to satisfy her hunger. Grabbing a plate of whatever she could, she quickly finds Ichika, surrounded by the girls and Charles, and heads that way.

"Brain, do you have my computer?" asks Gaige quietly, weaving between tables.

"I do" answers Brain.

"Thanks" murmurs Gaige, finally arriving at the table.

Sitting down, Gaige hears, "Oh Gaige, you're finally awake."

Smiling, Gaige replies, "Yes I am. Has it really been four days since the match?"

"It has been, and our room hasn't been the same" answers Ling with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Well, I won't be turning life support systems off again" remarks Gaige, eating her food while the others just stop and look at her.

Finally annoyed with the silence and the stares, Gaige asks somewhat irritably, "Something wrong?"

"You...turned off life support systems?!" asks Ling incredulously.

"Yeah, to have more available energy for the cannon that I digistructed and shot Laura with. Obviously that was a terrible move, but it was effective."

"Calculations indicate that life support systems could have remained online and the result would have been still as effective" interjects Brain from her wrist.

"Whatever" adds Gaige, continuing to eat her lunch.

"Where is Laura?" asks Gaige curiously a few bites later.

"She's been sitting away from everyone" answers Ichika quietly.

The group look over at the silver haired girl sitting in a corner, not a single soul in a ten foot radius near her.

"What should we do?" asks Houki uncertainly.

Hearing the bell ring for classes to resume, Gaige answers, "Nothing, for now."

After classes end, Gaige disappears into her allocated IS compartment, eager to get back to working on Brain and Harbinger.

"Gaige, I'm shipping you a new network card for Harbinger, as his apparently fried when you overcharged your cannon" comes a human and male voice from her computer sitting on a small rolling cart.

"Oh, thanks. What model is it?" asks Gaige quietly, as she begins to inspect the housing unit of the VIGIL system and networking equipment.

"The newest chip we made, a T-1000. Brain is using a T-800, and all fourth gen units were shipped with a T-980. There shouldn't any real difference communication wise, just a little less heat production" answers Andrew.

"Oh, ok. Thanks" replies Gaige somewhat absentmindedly, connecting a few unplugged connections, causing the warmer than normal housing to almost instantly begin to feel cooler.

* * *

/*in Ichika's room*/

"Ichika...?" calls out Charles quietly.

"Mhmm?" answers Ichika as he walks into the room.

"I...I need to talk to you."

Back turned to Charles, Ichika answers, "Sure. I'm listening", as he pours himself a cup of tea.

"Ichika, I mean face to face."

Taking his tea with him, Ichika sits on his bed across from Charles, who has a serious look on his face.

"Ichika, what I am about to tell you is...very personal" begins Charles quietly, but still loud enough to be heard by Ichika.

"Ok" says Ichika before taking a sip of his tea.

"I...I'm a girl" states Charles bluntly.

Hearing those words, Ichika begins choking on his tea, prompting Charles to asks hurriedly and concerned, "Are you alright?"

Taking multiple deep breaths, Ichika nods his head before answering, "I am, thank you. You just caught me, erm, off guard, with your statement of being a girl. But you don't really look like a girl."

Narrowing her eyes, Charles answers, "Of course, I was trained to speak like a boy and to dress like a boy. But please, call me Charlotte, it was the name I was given by my mama."

"Oh, ok. Does anyone else know that you are a girl?" inquiries Ichika, changing shirts as his previous one had tea slopped all over it.

A pause before Charlotte answers quietly, "Yes, Gaige does. She asked me the other day if I was a girl. That's why I decided to announce it to you, because if she picked up on it, then others might have as well."

"I see. Well, I'm glad you made me aware. I'll give you privacy when you, um, need it. Just say so" states Ichika turning red a bit.

"Oh, don't mind me so much" claims Charlotte, also blushing.

* * *

/*back with Gaige*/

"Here's my plan to get more sensitive equipment to and from Helios Station. I'll wrap up a Fast Travel Station and launch it towards Earth. Brain and Harbinger work together to retrieve it before it is detected and picked up by the government. Then once it's secure in your little compartment, I'll bring it online and then we can bring supplies to and from the academy and station" states Andrew.

"A fast travel station down here? Is that safe?" inquiries Gaige.

"Not if anyone finds out about it, but as long as it is hidden and not frequently used, I don't think it will be too much of an issue" states Andrew.

"Well, I suppose it would be ok. When would you send it?"

"During the night, when there are less potential observers. What do you think?" inquiries Andrew.

"If it hits the ground, then there will be the obvious sign that something has hit the ground to make an impression."

"Then I'll target a beach or someplace with a lot of sand, that should be malleable enough to soften the blow, keep it in place, and still be easily put back to what could be considered normal" suggests Andrew.

"I like that better than just launching it at some place on the ground" answers Gaige.

"As do I. Can't send too many of these, otherwise questions will be asked. And you know Lilith, she wants the details on everything."

"Do you mind sending two or three Loader bots with the Fast Travel Station?" inquiries Gaige.

"What? Why would you want some Loader bots wandering around?"

"Not wandering around, just able to be modified a bit to act like guards and of course be able to repair various mechanical units, such as themselves, IS units, anything else I might find that needs to be repaired" answers Gaige innocently.

The sound of a hand reaching a face echoes around the compartment before Andrew answers some what sarcastically, "Why not? It's not like you're going to build an army and try to take over the academy or anything."

"Thanks! I'll be waiting for the alert" states Gaige, shutting down various equipment, leaving Harbinger and Brain using their various sensors to detect any intruders, before exiting the compartment, laptop under her right arm.

Arriving at the classroom earlier than normal, Gaige sits in her seat at the back of the room, placing her headphones on her ears, turning on music as she looks through various things on her screen. Looking over the notification list, she smiles to herself as she notes that the Fast Travel Station alongside two Loader bots had been dispatched from the Moonshot Cannon, and were secure in the IS compartment, making room in the compartment quite the commodity. Typing some lines, Gaige continues to smile as Brain and then Harbinger accept the command to organize the compartment, and to make certain that any remnants of the original Sentinel and the rogue IS were disassembled and sorted into the spare parts system, marked with a code system to indicate what and where they were from.

As the rest of the class begins to enter and talk quietly amongst themselves, the electricity in the room turns off for a brief three seconds before turning back on as if nothing had happened. Furrowing her eyebrows, Gaige checks the flashing indicator on her screen, revealing that the Fast Travel Station had just been activated and a person had arrived. Groaning just loud enough to draw some brief attention to herself, Gaige begins typing furiously, hoping her message would get through before the Fast Travel Station was activated again.

"Attention class, we have one more new student" announces Miss Yamada.

All students look forward, finally seated as a blonde haired girl stands at the front of the room, hands in front of her, smiling.

"It appears that Charles Dunois is actually...Charlotte Dunois. It honestly surprises us staff too" announces Miss Yamada, clearly also somewhat surprised.

"Bonjour, I hope we can still be friends" states Charlotte nervously, still smiling.

"That means...Orimura has been sharing a room with a girl?!" comes a female voice, before being echoed throughout the room by most of the class.

"Ichika!" comes a screeching voice from the front of the room as Ling storms through the door, instantly deploying her IS.

With practiced ease, Gaige equips a sniper rifle and fires it once right in front of Ling, barely missing her.

"Ling, you didn't seem to care when I was rooming with Ichika" calls out Gaige from the back, standing up, weapon still in the firing position.

"That's because you almost always slept with your IS, and not in the room with Ichika!" exclaims Ling, equipping her two scimitars, Souten Gagetsu, menacingly.

"Do you want to fight me, one on one? You in Shenlong, and just myself, no Harbinger or Brain assisting me" asks Gaige quietly, but still being able to be heard throughout the room.

"Fight you? I'm just pissed at Ichika about constantly sleeping in the same room as a girl, night after night!" retorts Ling, putting together her weapon.

Having continuously moved up the aisle and to the front of the classroom, Gaige switches to a Torgue shotgun and cocks it before answering, "You will heed my advice and return to class, or you'll discover the kick of a Torgue shotgun."

"Get out of my way Gaige!" shouts Ling.

"No."

Waiting a few seconds, Ling mumbles a barely audible, "fine", before starting to exiting the room, causing Gaige to put her shotgun into her mysterious bag, returning to her seat. Seconds later explosions rock the room, smoke decimating the vision of everyone in the room.

Smoke clearing, everyone finds Laura at the front of the room, AIC active, shielding Ichika who hadn't moved from his seat. Wordlessly Laura drops the shield as Ling stands dumbfounded, picks up Ichika and delivers a kiss, before releasing him and looking around the room dangerously.

Smiling at the performance, Gaige claps slowly, the only one in the room to make any movement or sound.

* * *

Author note: Apparently no one has mentioned anything about me writing myself into this fanfic. I'll let you decide who I am. Hahaha! Anyways, thank you all who read, review, favorite, follow, etc. You all really make me happy to write this fanfic. .com is the source for many things I use, especially the names of the weaponry. :D

Telron, Gaige's bounty was set that high because that's what Gearbox decided to make it. I'm just using their numbers. :D


	9. Caretaker

Beta: None

Original release date: 11/14/2015

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Infinite Stratos or Borderlands universes.

A/N: If you don't know what a Loader bot looks like from the Borderlands world, you may want to look at a few before reading this chapter.

* * *

Chapter Nine – Caretaker

Striding into the IS compartment, Gaige pauses only long enough to shut the large rolling door before demanding, "What were you thinking? I'm surprised no one, especially Chifuyu, has come down here looking for the cause of the power shortage earlier today!"

"At least I didn't use it again after Harbinger mentioned that the power was briefly out" replies a familiar male standing near the back of the compartment.

"I thought you would have arrived during the night, when it would have been harder to detect" states Gaige, hands on her hips.

"I had to get a signal lock on your location, after it was connected to a power supply, etc. In other news, I have replaced Harbinger's fried network card for long distance communications. Fortunately your short range card wasn't affected by either heat or electricity" answers Andrew.

"Whatever."

"Anyways, I sent two standard Loader bots and one Bull Loader with the Fast Travel Station. That should surely be enough for you to play around with" states Andrew, a hint of laughter in his voice.

"Yes, but what about you getting back to Helios Stations? How are we going to manage such a thing without blacking out the academy again?" asks Gaige confused.

"With some brainstorming and some thoughts from Harbinger and Brain, we've come up with a solution. Using the two IS cores that were just sitting around, we constructed a rectangular enclosure that will hold the cores whilst harnessing and storing the energy created by the cores. The Fast Travel Station will draw on this first, before using any form of power from the academy. If not used very often, there should be plenty to use without causing a brownout" states Andrew leading Gaige to the small space behind the shipping container from Helios Station.

"This is where you put it?" asks Gaige dubiously.

"It was this or empty out the shipping container, add an oxygen source, and force any person coming or going to be in the shipping container for an unspecified amount of time. Do you have any better ideas?"

Sighing Gaige answers despondently, "No, I don't. You didn't bring any-"

"Network cards for the three bots you're going to modify, yes I did." Interrupts Andrew, smirking as he holds out three rectangular network cards in anti-static bags.

Grabbing them, Gaige mutters a thanks before heading over to the container where makeshift shelves and boxes line the inside, holding the multitude of parts available for use.

"Do you need anything before I leave?" inquiries Andrew standing by the Fast Travel Station [FTS].

"Just to not be caught with a guy who isn't Ichika on academy grounds" comes Gaige's voice as she remains over one of the standard Loader bots, the smell of freshly cut metal in the air.

"Alright, don't hurt yourself" remarks Andrew before activating the FTS, disappearing from sight, not causing any power fluctuations.

Hours later and many modifications later, Gaige steps back and sits down against some boxes, breathing heavier than normal. A series of beeps sounds from the Loader bot, before it begins to rise from the makeshift table, swinging its legs over the side and landing on the ground, testing movement range and a series of system tests.

Vision blurring before correcting itself and resuming blurring, Gaige's head falls back, breathing shallowly. Almost immediately the three robots, two IS units and the newly upgraded Loader bot move towards Gaige, alerted by her wrist monitor about her sudden and drastic change in her medical situation. Using Hivemind amongst themselves, seconds later Brain states, "Caretaker, carry Gaige to her room."

Without giving a response, the newly christened Loader bot as Caretaker retracts its claw arms, changing to more humanoid arm and hand shaped, with only three digits instead of human beings typical five. Sliding the arms under Gaige carefully, Caretaker walks side to side, with only the metallic ball separating the legs from the torso almost completely reducing the side to side motion in the torso.

"I'll continue with the modifications" declares Harbinger, grabbing the plasma cutting torch from its stand after placing the next loader unit, the bull loader, onto the table face down.

Equipping an SMG and taking a more offensive stance, Brain walks after the slower moving Caretaker, quickly over taking the unit and leading the way to Gaige's room. Multiple minutes later the duo open the door to the dorm room where a still awake Ling sits on her bed, engrossed with her phone.

"Ling-operator, we wish you to take care of Gaige" states Brain as Caretaker gently lays Gaige on her bed.

"What happened?!" exclaims Ling, dropping her phone onto her bed and rushing over to Gaige.

"Elevated heart rate, shallow breathing, and thermal imaging sensors reveal a slightly higher than normal body temperature at 99.9 degrees Fahrenheit" states Brain.

Turning to the two robots, Ling narrows her eyes and asks accusingly, "And why didn't you take her to the nurse's office?"

"We believe that Gaige is simply experiencing fatigue compounded with a lack of proper nourishment" states Brain, the obvious spokes-robot between the two mechanized units.

"So whatta want me to do? I'm not a doctor or anything."

We request you leave her alone until she awakens. We will be monitoring her vital signs. Good night" states Brain emotionlessly, exiting the room with Caretaker following behind.

"Ugh, stupid machines" mutters Ling as she removes Gaige's shoes and places a blanket over her.

The next morning Ling awakens and quietly gets ready for class, noticing a sole glass almost empty of water on the counter next to the sink.

"That wasn't there last night" murmurs Ling to herself, looking at the glass before looking over at Gaige who was now under the sheets, fast asleep.

Grabbing her bag, Ling exits the room, not noticing Caretaker by the side of the bed, collapsed into not much bigger than two shoe boxes stacked on top of each other.

Making it into class with just a brief minute or two to spare, Ichika looks around the classroom, missing the bell ringing, but he didn't miss the whack on the head delivered to him by Chifuyu who states, "Mr. Orimura, the bell rang and you aren't in your seat."

"Sorry ma'am" apologies Ichika before sitting in his assigned seat.

Calling roll, Miss Yamada is caught off guard when she hears nothing after calling out, "Smith, Gaige."

Students look around, attempting to spot Gaige just in case she is hiding.

"Gaige is ill" comes a mechanical voice from the doorway.

Everyone turns to the doorway where Caretaker stands with claw attachments equipped, resembling his original form.

"And who are you?" asks Chifuyu cautiously, eyes narrowing.

"This unit is called Caretaker" offers Caretaker, saying nothing more.

"Alright, 'Caretaker', mind informing us who or what you belong to?" demands Chifuyu, arms crossed.

"This unit belongs to Gaige."

"Do I assume that you take care of Gaige when she is ill?" asks Chifuyu.

"That is correct."

Shaking her head, Chifuyu states, "Thank you for informing us."

Pausing for a few seconds for any other comment, Caretaker wordlessly makes its way to back to Gaige. A few hours later Gaige awakens groggily, looking through half open eyes.

"Food, I crave food!" moans Gaige weakly, sitting up in bed.

"Error, lack of nourishing food found in refrigerator" states Caretaker carefully looking through the small fridge amongst the cabinets on the floor.

"Go buy some from the store then" moans Gaige, flopping back onto the bed.

"Warning, entering store without pilot would be disastrous" states Brain also in the room.

Receiving no response, Brain communicates with the now five functional units before saying, "Andrew will grab something from the kitchens on Helios Station and have it delivered."

Caretaker trudges out of the room, heading towards the compartment it and its robotic siblings share. Standing there, the four units stand in quiet, the low humming of the generator in the back of the room as the only source of sound in the compartment. Fifteen minutes later the darkened room lights up as the FTS lights up and a figure in jeans, black t-shirt, and tennis shoes appears.

"So what's the plan?" asks Andrew as he rubs his hands together.

"You were to bring food with you" states Harbinger.

"Oh, was I? Must have missed that message. Anyways, I suppose you all can't simply walk into a store and buy any groceries, even if you have the money."

"What are you proposing, Andrew-admin?" inquiries Caretaker.

"If I can successfully get off of the academy's island, I can go purchase some groceries and one of you can take them to Gaige and prepare her a meal" answers Andrew casually.

Not hearing any objections, Andrew remarks, "Sounds like a plan, seeing as none of you have objected", before exiting the room, heading down the hallway.

Ear piece alive with the machines indicating it wasn't safe, Andrew strolls out of a door, arriving on the grounds and walking through them as if he hadn't a care in the world. Pulling out his prescription sunglasses, Andrew enters the tram station and waits just a few minutes before wordlessly getting on a tram headed towards the mainland. Wandering through the variety of stores, various vendors, and open-aired stalls, Andrew finally collects enough food for multiple meals before heading leisurely back towards the tram station.

"Here's the plan, two units will come to the mainland as stealthily as they can. One will be tasked with taking the food to Gaige's room, while the other will be tasked with assisting me to the academy. Understood?" states Andrew over the ear piece.

"Understood" comes five equally metallic tones.

Shaking his head Andrew arrives at the tram station as he spots the two brightly colored Loader bot units standing side by side.

"Caretaker, you take the food to Gaige, and you, Bull Loader, what is your name?" asks Andrew.

"This unit has no name" answers the bull loader.

"Alright. Gaige will give you a name I figure. You and I will cross the water and land out of sight of the tram station, where I will attempt to take these last two bags of food to Gaige" states Andrew.

Wordlessly the two make their way back to the academy's island, landing in a clump of trees, the bull loader given an instruction to stay put until called for, with Andrew walking towards the academy out in the open. Thirty seconds later without a peep of being detected, Harbinger announces, "Four incoming IS units."

Smiling, Andrew continues on until the four units land, surrounding him. Knowing it would only take a maximum of ten seconds for the bull loader to appear, and the rest of the machines thirty to forty five seconds, Andrew asks, "What's the problem, officer?"

"You are on restricted property. Turn around and you will be escorted off of the premises" indicates one of the faceless teachers, visors shielding each of their faces, voice emotionless.

"And if I decline your most generous offer?" answers Andrew, smirking.

"This is not an offer but an instruction" states the same teacher as before.

"I see. Well, I'll take a raincheck on that" replies Andrew, taking a step forward.

With incredible speed the teachers draw their weapons, SMG's, and point them at the intruder.

"Ooh, standard second generation class T SMG's, able to deal approximately 19 damage a shot. With a discharge amount of 18 rounds per second, this would be damaging to most everyone. However, I'm not your standard human" states Andrew, deploying dual shotguns in an instant from his mini constructors on each of his forearms.

"You see ladies, I'm not a defenseless male like many of the other men around the world. If you'd like to test me and see, by all means attempt to stop me. However, if you value your IS units, you will let me past and trouble need not come to pass."

Hearing nothing, Andrew proceeds to take a single step forward before a single shot rings out, grazing his sideburns, but not removing a single hair.

"We have snipers in position" states the teacher in an emotionless tone.

Reflecting on that statement, Andrew begins chuckling before laughing heartily, confusing the teachers. A minute or so later Andrew takes a few deep breathes before answering, "You know what? You all have such an amazing sense of humor. I'll let you in on a secret, you all won't be able to take me down. And here's why; execute shutdown QuadAlphaTangoFour."

Seconds later the four teachers are ejected from their respective IS units, the units disappearing. Taking a few steps forward and out of the ring of teachers, Andrew states, "By the way, you might want to change the admin password from 'adminpassword123' to something a bit more...obscure. But not worries, your IS units will reactivate in half an hour. Good day to you ladies", before destroying his weapons and carrying on his way, bull loader zooming past the four ladies on their knees in the dirt.

Entering the academy, not a single soul appears on Andrew's way to the IS compartment, not eager to give them a second chance at stopping him. Dropping off the two meager bags of bananas and some spices, Andrew activates the FTS, disappearing and reappearing on Helios Station right by his desk.

In Gaige's room Brain monitors activity around the entrance to the room while Caretaker begins to prepare various snacks and meals for Gaige who had fallen back asleep shortly after Caretaker had left some time ago. A little while later Gaige awakens begins to nibble at the various prepared dishes, regaining an ever growing amount of her strength.

* * *

/*a few weeks later*/

"Next Monday class, is our trip to the beach! Who's excited?" announces Miss Yamada smiling.

Amongst all the cheering a lone hand rises and Miss Yamada calls out, "Yes, Miss Smith?"

"Do we have to go to the beach?"

Slowly everyone turns and looks at Gaige when Chifuyu speaks up from the front, arms crossed as normal, "Yes Miss Smith, everyone is expected to go unless they are suffering from some form of injury that prevents them from doing so. Are you going to remove a limb just to not go on the trip, Miss Smith?"

"I've done it once before, and I can do it again" mutters Gaige to herself.

"Don't mumble under your breath. What did you say?" instructs Chifuyu.

Pushing her chair back before standing, Gaige answers, "I said, I've done it once before, and I can do it again."

A hushed silence falls over the class as Gaige and Chifuyu stare at each other for painfully long seconds.

"As I stated, everyone will going on the trip. Now, we will continue with our quiz before continuing on" announces Chifuyu, taking charge from Miss Yamada.

Hours later of keeping to herself, Gaige enters the compartment reserved for her units and notices a bright orange colored unit, similarly shaped to Harbinger. Tapping on her left wrist, Gaige waits for just a few seconds before a male voice answers in an excited tone, "Did you find the wonderful new toy I left you?"

"Of course. How would I miss such a...unit blows my mind. Anways, does it have an IS core, or is it just the VIGIL system?" remarks Gaige, rolling her eyes.

"It's just a prototype; it's codename is SU" answers Andrew.

"What does it stand for?" asks Gaige, examining the unit.

"Because it's the first underwater IS so far" answers Andrew in an offhanded tone.

Pausing, Gaige asks quietly, "Did you say 'underwater'?"

"I did..." answers Andrew.

* * *

Author note: For those who don't know, I try to keep my profile page updated on progress on the various fanfics that I'm working on. If something doesn't happen for a few weeks, then a large amount of progress happens, it's because I'm busy with work. Also, don't worry about Ichika, he'll have a much larger role to play in chapter ten, I assure you.


	10. Underwater

Beta: None

Original release date: 11/27/2015

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Infinite Stratos or Borderlands universes.

* * *

Chapter Ten - Underwater

Pausing, Gaige asks quietly, "Did you say 'underwater'?"

"I did. It has passed some preliminary tests and will function underwater, at least to a depth of fifty to seventy five feet. Fresh water as well. But that's the limit to the currently established testing capabilities I have up here. SU has a VIGIL controlled system, alongside some additional programming on operating underwater and life support system controls that aren't on any other unit. Now I request that you test the underwater capabilities and see what happens. Obviously don't put anyone inside of it until we get some solid data on how it performs."

"And let me guess, it's orange to make it easier to be seen underwater?" asks Gaige, continuing to inspect the unit.

"Precisely. It's heavier and bulkier than almost other IS units, especially with larger oxygen tanks for potential extended use underwater. However, it is armed with two mini constructors on the arms, just like the other fourth generation units. Not certain if they will be of any use underwater, and if not, then new weaponry will have to be designed and tested."

"Can it fight like the others can?" inquiries Gaige.

"Haven't a clue. You might test that out as well. I'm a tad busy with some defensive measures."

"What do you mean 'defensive measures'?" asks Gaige concerned.

"Oh, we caught some snippets about Hyperion figuring out that we took Helios Station, and that some other branch of theirs is coming to find us."

"When did you learn that?" asks Gaige.

"Oh, a week or more ago. Don't worry, we've got multiple hundred of bots like the bull loader you've got down there, armed and walking around up here. Networked together, armed with mini constructors, and a large arsenal of weaponry, I think the possible invaders will have a problem defeating us."

"I want to be there to help" declares Gaige.

"Ask Lilith, but I figure she'll say no. Besides, if you arrive here and are unable to return to Earth, you will be unable to stop any invaders that might arrive down there. You're safer with Harbinger, Brain, and the others. And with Marcus and his collection of guns, we're armed to the teeth", laughs Andrew.

"Fine. But promise me you'll survive" states Gaige firmly.

"Oh I promise. I've got an escape ship that I can use, and Tabane has one as well."

"Whatever" states Gaige before turning to the two unnamed loader bots in the compartment, "I guess you two need names. You, Bull Loader, your name is Dozer, and you standard Loader bot, are now named Yurika, please adopt a female voice", smirking.

"Understood" choruses Dozer and Yurika.

"Do you two have any weapons, other than what Hyperion originally designed for you two?" asks Gaige.

"Negative" reply Yurika and Dozer.

"What are your defensive capabilities? Are you two equipped with shields? Yurika, please respond first, and then Dozer you."

"This unit is not equipped with shields. One defensive mechanism found, it is an assault rifle" answers Yurika.

"This unit is equipped with a Hyperion shield, model number J4201, capacity of 650. Standard Hyperion assault rifle with curved defensive and ramming armament" answers Dozer.

Sighing, Gaige asks, "Brain, Harbinger, can you two work on making some personalities for VIGIL units, so their speech is a bit more...human like? Thanks."

Digging into her work, Gaige stops paying attention to the time until Caretaker announces, "It is time to sleep. Please head to your room."

Mumbling under her breath, Gaige puts her tools down and exits, followed by Caretaker.

* * *

/*the next morning */

Knocking on the door, Ichika waits a few seconds before the door opens and a pair of purple eyes and blonde hair appear in the doorway.

"Oh Ichika, is it time already?" comes Charlotte's voice nervously, opening the door wider.

"It is ten, right?" responds Ichika, calmly.

"Let's be off then" remarks Charlotte as she follows Ichika out of her room and down the hallway.

Arriving at the train station that takes students off of the island and to the main part of Japan, the two wait quietly for the next train to arrive.

' _I can't believe Ichika is taking me on a date!'_ Charlotte thinks to herself, blushing slightly at the thought and accompanying mental image.

Getting on the train and somehow getting their own compartment, the two sit beside each other quietly until Charlotte asks, "Ichika, where are we going?"

"Well, seeing as you didn't bring a female swimsuit and the class beach trip is coming up, and with needing some new swim trunks myself...I thought you might want to get some swim wear yourself" answers Ichika openly.

Hopes and dreams crashing around her, Charlotte harrumphs indignantly before muttering, "...get kicked by a horse..."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Ichika asks confused, "Did you say something?"

Charlotte just harrumphs once more, crossing her legs and turning away from Ichika. Arriving at the train station, Charlotte hurries off and waits for Ichika to follow.

"Charlotte, did I do something to upset you?" inquiries Ichika, a perplexed look on his face.

"If you hold my hand while we walk, I'll forget it" answers Charlotte, offering her left hand.

Still miffed about what he had said or done, Ichika takes Charlotte's hand and is quickly dragged along behind her as they proceed down the stairs. Peering around some structural pillars, Ling whispers, "What are you up to, Ichika?"

"We should continue our reconnaissance, Ling" Cecilia whispers back.

* * *

/*about the same time*/

Cutting into metal, Gaige makes small and precise cuts before hearing in her earpiece that a lone individual was approaching. Opting to ignore the approaching individual, Gaige continues cutting until Harbinger's voice in her ear alerts her that the individual was waiting outside of the compartment. Sighing, Gaige turns off the cutting torch, removes her protective goggles, and calls out without turning around, "I know it's you, Laura."

As footsteps echo around the compartment, Gaige turns around and crosses her arms as she stares down Laura.

"Is there anything I can assist you with?" asks Gaige in a neutral tone.

"I vas just vondering around, and heard vhat sounded like gas escaping, so I came to inspect it" answers Laura openly.

"It's just me" states Gaige.

"Vhat are you up to?" asks Laura peering around Gaige at Yurika laying horizontally on the table behind Gaige.

Sighing, Gaige turns around to Yurika and answers, "I'm cutting sections away to have access to the power cables, as well as control lines for some modification purposes."

"Such as the mechanism you used to copy my canon?" asks Laura curiously.

Pausing, Gaige answers, "Yes", before donning her protective goggles.

"Do you mind if I vatch?" asks Laura.

Wordlessly Gaige hands Laura pair of goggles before continuing her rectangular cut on the right arm of Yurika, revealing the multitude of wires flowing underneath. Unclenching her hand, Gaige turns off the torch and places it gently into its holder on the side of the table, before grabbing the rectangular mini constructor with its various wires, all color coded. Connecting the wires, some thicker than others, Gaige finishes before putting her goggles back on and welding the mini constructor to Yurika's frame, sticking an inch or so out of the arm. Grinding down some of the areas of the weld to even it out, Gaige finally puts down the tools and removes the goggles before hearing, "Your arm is on fire!"

Looking down at her left arm, Gaige finds that indeed her arm has caught fire and begins slapping at it, desperate to put it out before a cascade of water falls, putting out the fire and getting part of Gaige wet at the same time. Seeing the dull metallic look peeking around the skin on her left arm, Gaige sighs before reaching down and pulling the rest of the skin off, revealing her mechanical arm.

Eye widening in surprise, Laura asks confused, "You have a mechanical arm?"

"I do as much as you have been created in a laboratory and had surgery to have a computer inserted into your skull" answers Gaige, tossing the pseudo skin into a nearby metal waste bin.

A pause falls between the two before laughter erupts around the room, stopped by Laura saying, "I like that about you, you're so honest."

Changing tones to a much more serious one, Laura asks, "But how did you know?"

"The German government may have some of the best network security systems in place to safeguard their information, but even their systems are vulnerable to a computer that has far more processing power than theirs. Simply put, I broke in, copied every file, decrypted the files, encrypted them with my own encryption, and read through the ones that interested me" answers Gaige, giving a small smile.

Flabbergasted, Laura just stands there speechless before finally saying, "You're not from America, are you?"

"You've seen that I have a fully functional mechanical arm, something that still hasn't been perfected to this level on earth, so I might as well tell you that I'm from Eden-5. Technology is far more advanced than what you will see from where I'm from, and that's how I have so many IS units, in addition to many other things."

Blinking a few times, Laura smiles and asks, "Vell, that vould explain vhy you don't vant to go to the beach."

Walking over to her laptop, Gaige types for twenty or thirty seconds before turning around, "I'm out of the arm covers, and it will take a few hours to get one delivered, so would you like to do something?"

"D-do something? Like vhat?"

"Well, seeing as we have to go, and I'm not going to cut my other arm off, I figure we could go into town and look at swimsuits" suggests Gaige, flipping a few switches in Yurika's control panel, shutting the access door gently.

"Vhat about people seeing your arm?" inquiries Laura.

Shrugging her shoulders, Gaige answers, "I'll just wear my academy uniform and keep the sleeves out to my hands, and wear a glove."

"O-oh, ok" answers Laura uncertainly.

Entering the shipping container, Gaige quickly searches through some boxes, finding a glove and putting it on her left hand, both sleeves covering her arms. Gaige calls out as she and Laura exit the compartment, "Yurika, run a full system check and keep the others in line; you're in charge now."

"Understood" answers Yurika in a pleasant female tone.

Making it across the academy grounds in a little under ten minutes, Laura and Gaige get on the train and take it in to the shopping center. Walking through the city, the two take their time as they take in the sights. Nearing one of the possible stores, Gaige furrows her eyebrows as she spots Ling and Cecilia attempting to hide behind a pillar a trashcan, watching the front of a store intently. Looking the same way as Ling and Cecilia, Gaige spots the reason: Ichika was standing in the girl's swimwear section.

Walking as quietly as she could, Gaige creeps up behind the two and quickly knocks their heads together. Jumping up and swearing profusely, Ling stops as she realizes it's only Gaige, with Laura not too far behind laughing.

"Why ya do that?!" demands Ling angrily

"Because you're being a creeper staring at Ichika through the window of a store. Go in there and tell him how you feel about him? Laura did, and I figure she could easily do it again" states Gaige, smirking.

Opening her mouth to reply, Ling just stares dumbfounded as Gaige continues into the store and begins to peruse the swimwear. Following her inside, Laura catches up to Gaige and whispers, "Vhat does a 'good' swimsuit look like?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Gaige answers, "I have no clue. But I'm going to pick something that I like, no matter what others think of me. After being on that hellhole of a planet named Pandora, I'm going for whatever I want."

Ignoring the urge to her second in command, Laura looks at the swimsuits not for what she thinks Ichika might like, but what SHE likes.

Looking around and noticing the other girls, Charlotte drags Ichika into a changing stall "cand places a hand over his objecting mouth. "Ssh!"

"Charlotte, why are we in this changing room together?" whispers Ichika.

Taking one more peek out of the curtained off room, Charlotte answers equally as quiet, "Because…I want your opinion of this swimsuit."

Looking down at the swimsuit Charlotte holds in her hands, Ichika's eyes grow big and he whispers, "Then let me get out of here and let you—URP!" as the barrel of a rifle pokes through the curtain and a female voice calls out, "If you're properly dressed, get out here."

Hearing the commotion, a certain green haired individual named Miss Yamada and alongside her the black haired and imposing Chifuyu Orimura stride over to where Gaige has a yellow rifle barrel sticking into a changing stall which quickly retracts as not one person, but two appear.

"Orimura, what were you thinking?!" exclaims Chifuyu.

Taking the two bikinis in her hands, Gaige quietly goes over to the counter and pays before quickly exiting the store. Following suit, Laura takes her selected swimsuit and also pays before slipping out of the store, not wanting to incur the wrath of Chifuyu.

Entering the compartment, Gaige hands the bag to Caretaker and instructs him to wash the swimsuits carefully, before turning and asking, "Yurika, status of system check?"

"All systems nominal, mini constructor integration successful, ready for combat" answers Yurika.

"Good. Prepare a list of materials needed for a complete system test with SU, then gather the needed materials so when we move out on Monday for the beach, you all can head there and begin testing" states Gaige smiling.

* * *

/*Monday morning*/

Getting onto the train, Chifuyu announces, "Is everyone here? If not, say so now so we can have an accurate count."

Rippling waves of murmurs roll through the compartment before an unidentified voice calls out, "No one missing here ma'am."

"Good, then we can begin our journey" begins Chifuyu and almost instantly the train begins rumbling and moving forwards.

"Now, we will have a lot of time at the beach, but we have prepared a dinner at seven this evening at—" begins Chifuyu before three blurs zoom past the train, two dark colored and one very brightly colored one, followed by two much slower and recognizable units fly by, armed with rifles.

Pausing, Chifuyu turns around slowly, a look of anger spreading across her face, and asks dangerously quiet, "Miss Smith, are you planning on skipping out on the beach in favor to work on your units?"

Smiling, Gaige answers, "Of course not. They are acting of their own accord. You do remember that they each have their own AI capable of controlling their movements outside of my commands, correct?"

Noticing the growing anger on Chifuyu's face, Gaige quickly adds, "They are just running some tests in an environment that is more than just packed dirt. Don't worry, they will be away from us."

Chifuyu's eyes narrow, but says nothing more. Finally arriving at the beach, Chifuyu calls out, "Remember, be ready to eat at seven!"

Noticing the sand had been mysteriously plowed and the tracks were heading off away from the specified area for the group, Gaige smiles as she sets up a chair under an umbrella before sitting and closing her eyes.

"Ichika darling, come rub suntan lotion on my back" calls out Cecilia.

"Uh, sure" comes Ichika uncertainly, beginning to step forwards.

Landing softly in the sand, Caretaker walks over to Cecilia, switches to a spray nozzle on the left arm, and coats Cecilia in cold lotion in seconds. Caught unaware, Cecilia screams out, as Ling laughs and Caretaker takes a few steps away and flies a short distance away, making small jumps across the sandy terrain.

/*half a mile away and in a small cove*/

Communicating through network connections instead of vocalizing the needed words, Brain, Harbinger, and SU stand while Dozer, Yurika, and Caretaker stand armed with digistructed assault rifles, watching for any potential danger. Stepping forward into the saltwater, SU rapidly descends into the watery depths quickly out of sight. Activating thermal imaging sensors amongst a host of many others, SU begins using the oxygen reserve at varying rates simulating various heart rates.

Back in the specified beach area, Ling calls out, "Hey Ichika, betcha I can beat you to the buoy over there", pointing at a buoy to the far left of the designated area before jumping into the water and beginning to swim.

Sighing, Ichika chases after her, far behind her. Kicking hard, Ling smiles internally as she closes the gap between her and the buoy, before sharp pain goes through her legs. Flailing, Ling begins falling towards the bottom, unable to reach the surface.

' _I guess I'll die if Ichika or someone doesn't rescue me…'_ thinks Ling sadly. As she blacks out, the last thing Ling senses is the cool touch of something on her back.

With thermal imaging indicating the rapidly cooling body, SU pulls Ling into herself and begins pumping oxygen, activating the gill system installed to keep oxygen entering the tanks to keep Ling alive. Walking towards the incline of the sand to the student designated area, SU sends a medical alert out for Ling.

Sleeping peacefully, Gaige is abruptly awakened when her invisible ear piece alerts her to SU's message. Jumping up from her chair, Gaige dashes through the sand just as Ichika walks slowly out of the water, a perplexed look on his face.

"Hey Gaige-" begins Ichika before Gaige states, "Not now, Ling's in trouble!", not slowing down as she reaches the ocean and quickly has water up to her waist. Seconds later the bright orange frame of SU emerges, an unconscious but breathing Ling shielded off using the atmospheric pressure fields.

"SU, how's Ling?" asks Gaige concern laced through her voice.

"Alive, she has expelled water when first receiving fresh oxygen, and her heart rate has become more constant" answers SU in a female tone, a little lower than Yurika's.

"Smith! What did I say—" begins Chifuyu before Gaige interrupts with, "Ling needs medical attention!"

"What do you mean?" asks Chifuyu confused.

"I detected a descending human form while executing tests, and went to investigate. I picked Ling up and gave her oxygen while we ascended" answers SU, indicating the still unconscious Ling.

Nodding her head, Chifuyu states, "We must hurry then" striding off with SU easily matching her stride alongside Gaige and Miss Yamada.

Turning to Gaige as they make their way to the hotel, Chifuyu states, "Thank you for bringing your IS along, without it Ling would more than likely would have died."

"My given name is SU, and you are welcome" states SU in a nearly emotionless tone.

Arriving at the front desk, Chifuyu quickly states that an ambulance is needed for one of the students.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but our phones are all offline" apologies the desk worker.  
Thinking fast, Gaige states, "SU, take Ling directly to the nearest hospital and inform the others of your location. Get Harbinger and Brain up here to take Miss Yamada and Miss Orimura to the same hospital."

"Miss Yamada, stay here with the rest of the students, I'll attend to Miss Huang" commands Chifuyu.

Pausing for the slightest moment, SU states, "Done" before striding out the front door and taking to the sky. Thirty seconds later Harbinger and Brain arrive and take a Chifuyu in the direction SU had departed, with Brain watching Gaige and Miss Yamada.

* * *

Author note: Thanks for reading! :D For anyone curious where I got Yurika as a name, I got the name from Magical Girl Yurika in ' _Invaders of the Rokujyoma?!_ ' anime. If anyone has played Borderlands the Pre Sequel and knows of the fields that you can pass through that somehow keep oxygen/atmosphere in check, that's what I'm using with SU. :)  
Also, my friend, DarkerThanYin, has released an Infinite Stratos fanfiction 'Taming the Beast' and after reading the first chapter, I suggest it to you all. :)


	11. Unwanted Visitors

Beta: None

Original release date: 12/11/2015

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Infinite Stratos or Borderlands universes.

Author note 1: I've changed the rating on this fanfic from T to M because of language and some corpses appear. More of a precaution, but it will stand.

* * *

Chapter Eleven – Unwanted Visitors

Walking back in silence, Gaige and Miss Yamada jumpy slightly when Brain asks in his mechanical voice, "Gaige, what are your orders?"

Thinking about it, Gaige answers while continuing to walk, "Seeing as SU is with Ling, likewise Harbinger and Miss Orimura, there isn't any more underwater tests that can be run. Compile the data that was gained and send it to Andrew."

Arriving back at the beach at her chair where Dozer, Yurika, and Caretaker stand, Gaige stops and asks, "Miss Yamada, would you like Dozer, Yurika, and Caretaker to patrol the beach?"

Taken back by the question, Miss Yamada answers hesitantly, "Well, um, I guess. It wouldn't be any trouble, would it?"

Chorusing "Understood", Caretaker, Dozer, and Yurika disperse, to which Gaige answers, "No, it wouldn't a problem at all."

"O-oh, thanks."

Sitting down in her chair, Gaige sits back and puts her oversized sunglasses on while Brain stands half a dozen or so feet away.

* * *

/*elsewhere*/

"She'll be alright, Miss Orimura. I'm just glad you got her here as quickly as you did" states the doctor beside of Chifuyu, both women looking into the hospital room through the window with blinds on it.

Breathing an internal sigh of relief, Chifuyu answers, "That's good to know. But I didn't bring her, the IS that brought her did."

Blinking rapidly in succession multiple times, the doctor states hestitantly, "Brought her….itself?"

"I am SU, an IS with a female personality and yes, I brought Ling myself" answers SU as she walks up behind them.

"But…how?" asks the doctor quietly.

"I am an AI system capable of controlling all systems with or without a pilot" answers SU.

"I've never heard of this before! And with the amount of water we found in her lungs, she must have been drowning when you found her. What…what are you?" asks the doctor with a confused look on her face.

"I am a fourth generation IS with built in atmospheric retention fields to provide a stable atmospheric condition and pressure for occupants in less optimal conditions, such as under water or high enough in Earth's atmosphere that the pilot is able to have enough oxygen to survive for short periods of time" answers SU.

"I see" begins the doctor before smiling, "I appreciate you rescuing Miss Huang."

"I shall stay by her and watch over her" states SU before entering the room and standing in a corner with plenty of sunshine.

Looking at Chifuyu, the doctor asks confused, "Aren't you going to stop the IS?"

"I don't have the power to do so. She belongs to one of the pilots I teach, and quite possibly the project lead."

"But an IS has no place in a hospital" sputters the doctor dumbfounded.

"Miss Orimura, SU informed me she will update us on Miss Huang's condition hourly" states a mechanical male voice from behind the two.

"AH! Another one?!" exclaims the doctor as she turns around and sees Harbinger.

"Yes, I am another AI controlled IS. I am referred to as 'Harbinger'" answers Harbinger.

"Let's go then" states Chifuyu before heading towards the exit with Harbinger in tow.

"But what about the orange one?!" shouts the doctor behind them.

Pausing and turning around, Harbinger answers, "She will only answer to Gaige or Andrew, as will I", before continuing following Chifuyu.

* * *

/*somewhere not on Earth*/

Explosions echo through the mostly empty hallways, alarms blaring to a sparse few inhabitants. "Seal off hallway 48D!" shouts a male voice.

"Hallway sealed sir" answers a mechanized voice of no discernable gender.

"Andrew, what the—" begins Lilith as a screen comes to life with her face on it.

"Lilith, it's the Hyperion lackeys that I warned you about the other day. They've breached hallway 48D and vented the few items in there into space. Fortunately there weren't any of us in that hallway" interrupts Andrew as he taps a few items on a nearby screen.

"Wait, you were serious?!" exclaims Lilith.

Giving Lilith a glare through the screen, Andrew responds, "I was and still am. An estimated ten thousands Hyperion troops are outside our doors, if breaking into their network proves correct."

"How are we going to repel that many? I mean, we Vault Hunters can take down dozens of their soldiers, but we're going to need a lot of ammo" begins Lilith as a frantic look begins to cross her face.

"Dragon! Disconnect the Fast Travel Station network and inform Gaige we're under attack and that she is to stay on Earth at all costs!" shouts Andrew over his right shoulder before turning back to the screen with Lilith on it, "Don't worry so much about it. With some upgrades that Gaige has engineered for the Loader bots, there are approximately 750 units prowling Helios. They will handle a bulk of the combat."

"But the Loader bots are really weak-" begins Lilith.

"Yes, before Gaige tweaked the designed and helped them have shields at 20k in strength" smiles Andrew.

"Holy, seriously?! That's pretty badass" responds Lilith.

"You should have known this because she's Gaige the MECHROMANCER. Anyways, just leave them be and let them handle most of the fighting. But don't let me stop you all from joining the fight" answers Andrew.

"Thanks for the heads up" states Lilith before the screen darkens.

* * *

/*back on Earth*/

"Gaige, fighting has begun on Helios Station" states Brain emotionlessly.

Sitting up, Gaige asks, "Do you think we can join them?"

"The Fast Travel Station network link has been severed by Helios Station. Until further notice, we are to remain here" states Brain.

"Hey Gaige, wanna join us for some volleyball?" calls out a girl with a fox ear headband.

"You might as well as to not mope around. The others on Helios will be fine" states Brain.

Furrowing her eyebrows Gaige asks, "You're changing the way you speak, Brain."

"I am merely changing my diction to be more human like. This is allowed and encouraged under the constraints you wrote my system on, as long as it doesn't interfere with any operating procedures" states Brain.

Getting out of her chair, Gaige walks over to where Laura, Charlotte, Cecilia, and Honne stand by an erected volleyball net.

"Five people, shouldn't we have at least one more player?" asks Gaige somewhat confused.

"You're right; hey Orimu, come over and join us!" shouts Honne.

"Yeah, sure, why not?" answers Ichika as he arrives.

"So who makes up what team?" asks Cecilia as she eyes Ichika.

"I volunteer to be vith Gaige" offers Laura with a small smile.

"As will I!" beams Honne as she walks over to the other side of the net with Gaige and Laura.

Some time later, Harbinger lands near the volleyball game with Chifuyu exiting gracefully. "Alright, time to clean up and get ready for dinner!" calls out Chifuyu as the many girls and lone male quickly clean up as Gaige's entourage assists and returns the beach to the state it was before the class outing.

An hour later and many showers later, everyone sits down and begins to eat the lavish meal laid out in front of them. Hearing some unusual chatter from her earpiece, Gaige frowns, but continues to eat. Sighing, Gaige waits a few seconds until the doors to their private dining room slide and three men with exo-skeleton suits bursts through the door, before discharging her digistructed rifle three times in rapid succession, through the chest of each of the men.

As silence falls across the room, Gaige walks slowly over to the men and looks over them before finding the one man still alive. "Tell me this, who sent you and why?"

"Boss, we-" begins the man before a quick shot to the head ends any possible leads.

"Dozer, please come over here and take care of our three….guests. Yurika, guard this door with Caretaker, Harbinger and Brain, take the metal and parts for use as scrap. Find out if they are with Hyperion or just some scavengers" states Gaige before walking back to her food and resumes eating.

Noticing the looks on everyone's face, Laura calls out, "Vhat do you vant? She just stopped three criminals without any help from an IS" before continuing her meal as well.

Slowly but surely everyone resumes their meal, not wanting to interact with Gaige. Minutes later, as she bursts out laughing, Gaige gets a bunch of looks before explaining as she wipes the tears from her eyes, "Apparently Ling has awoken and she's cursing in Chinese. It's quite the sight I hear."

Finishing their meal, the students go back to their room and talk quietly before falling asleep. Some time after midnight, Gaige awakens as Harbinger's voice comes through her earpieces, "Alert, Hyperion troops overhead."

Quickly getting out of bed, Gaige changes into her dark red skirt and black top, similar to what she had worn on Pandora, before grabbing her bag and opening the door to find Chifuyu outside of her door.

"You're awake?" asks Chifuyu confused.

"Apparently there's a few enemy units somewhere overhead" answers Gaige as she and Caretaker exit the room.

Furrowing her brows Chifuyu asks suspiciously, "How did you know about the rogue IS that is headed this way?"

"I do now, but I'm referring to the possibly cloaked Hyperion units that are making brief comm traffic and got picked up by Harbinger. Hyperion never had aerial units before, so we'd better handle this confrontation personally."

"You will wait for my order before striking at the IS!"

"I don't care about the IS that has gone rogue. I care about the Hyperion units of unknown strength and numbers!" declares Gaige with a firm tone before walking away with Caretaker clomping behind her.

A little while later, Chifuyu announces, "You all are here because you have your own personal IS. We have a rogue IS from America and Israel that is heading this way."

"Vhere's Gaige?" asks Laura as she looks around the small room.

"She has disappeared and at this time could be considered working with the rogue IS" answers Chifuyu.

"That's utter bullshit!" exclaims Gaige as she walks into the room, shutting the door behind her and Yurika.

"And just where have you been then?" demands Chifuyu as she crosses her arms.

"Taking care of the Hyperion troop issue. Found your rogue IS as well, and if you didn't know, there isn't a pilot."

"How do you know that there isn't a pilot?" demands Chifuyu.

"Thermal imaging scans, duh" answers Gaige as she takes a seat on the mat.

"Your recklessness could have gotten you killed!" exclaims Chifuyu angrily.

"I've taken on bandits, bullymongs, waves of Hyperion troops with weaponry far beyond what you can find on Earth, and I'm still here to tell the tale. It won't be that easy to kill me, trust me" states Gaige with a frosty tone.

"You may have a great deal of engineering experience, but guns are guns" scoffs Chifuyu.

"Yurika, deploy a fire elemental assault rifle" states Gaige as she deploys a cryo elemental pistol.

"What are you trying to prove?" demands Chifuyu.

"That a gun isn't just a gun and that if it has an elemental type that this can cause adverse effects on the target, depending on the type used and what the target has for shielding and/or armor" answers Gaige.

"Fine. But what does this have to do with anything?" inquiries Chifuyu.

"That Harbinger, Sentinel, and Akatsubaki are all able to use elemental weaponry, based on purchased licenses for the over 9000 different weapons available" states Gaige, putting her hands on her hips.

"Over…9000…unique weapons?!" exclaims Charlotte as her jaw drops.

"Yes. That's the power of our technology. Back to one of my points, having access to these elemental weapons can change how this rogue IS dealt with. Did either country state what generation IS this might be?" answers Gaige.

"No, they didn't."

"Then they might…Caretaker, go back SU up at Ling's location STAT! Yurika, Dozer, Brain, arm yourselves for long range combat. Brain, equip shock weaponry, Dozer, equip cryo weaponry, and Yurika, equip a corrosive weapon" states Gaige.

"What are you doing?" demands Chifuyu.

"This rogue IS may have advanced shielding that will render standard weaponry ineffective or it may not. It is better to arm ourselves and find out what kind of effect we will have and change tactics as needed, then to merely assume, discharge our weaponry, and discover it had no effect" states Gaige, digistructing Excalibastard.

"We need to talk about tactics, positioning, and not just running off to fight!" shouts Chifuyu as Gaige begins to walk away.

Pausing, Gaige fully unclenches her right hand, causing Excalibastard to return to nothing, before taking a seat, giving an obvious look of mock attention to Chifuyu.

"Shouldn't we have a say in what we do?" asks Ichika politely.

"Ichika's right, why do you get to decide what our IS does?" demands Cecilia.

"Uh, because I'm the engineer and half the brains behind this project? Because I've been on the run for so long and have no real home to return to that I'm used to calling all of the shots. Because the bastards that put an eight hundred twenty billion dollar bounty on my head are outside waiting for us" declares Gaige as she exits the room to the moonlit grounds outside.

"Look who we have here boys, the famous Gaige the Mechromancer" calls out the obvious leader of the group of fifty or so troops behind him.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" asks Gaige sarcastically.

"I don't like the looks of this" murmurs Charlotte to Laura.

"You killed my brother on Pandora. Now come along quietly, and no one will get hurt…permanently" states the leader, grinning.

"How about you disappear and I 'forget' that you are here" answers Gaige.

"Disappear? Oh no, definitely not that. Not after I finally found you. Besides, you can't take us all on and survive" sneers the leader.

"You're forgetting who I am then. Death Trap, go!" shouts Gaige as she summons Death Trap.

"One robot won't stop us!" roars the leader

Smirking, Gaige answers, "That's right, but I'm sure Harbinger, Brain, Dozer, and Yurika will give him help."

Stepping forward, the four mentioned units digistruct weaponry, and aim them at the invaders who pause at the sight of five mechanical units at Gaige's beck and call. At that moment, a silvery IS lands gently between Gaige and the leader of the Hyperion units.

"The rogue IS!" exclaims Chifuyu.

"Harbinger and Brain, handle the IS. Yurika and Dozer, let's take on these guys!" exclaims Gaige as she digistructs Excalibastard.

Seconds later with bullets spraying everywhere, Miss Yamada and Chifuyu retreat back into the room while the others deploy their IS units.

"Charlotte, Laura, and Cecilia stay here and help me take on these guys while Ichika and Houki handle the rogue IS" states Gaige as she burns through the digistructed rounds in seconds.

High in the sky, Houki asks, "So Ichika, what do we do?"

"I don't know. Um, hey, Harbinger, Brain, what should Houki and I do to help?" answers Ichika uncertainly.

"Attack as you see fit, we shall adjust our positioning based on yours" answers Harbinger.

The sound of a clap proceeds a loud explosion with the after-effect of bodies flying. "Give 'em hell DT!" shouts Gaige as she switches to a shotgun, beginning to run very low on ammunition. Minutes later as Charlotte, Laura and Cecilia drop to the ground unconscious, the unnamed leader of the troops calls out laughing, "Looks like you're out gunned. Five on one, and you're all out of ammo!"

The sound of air whistling by grows stronger until a giant rectangular shipping container, obviously from Helios Station, zooms into view, hitting the four goons behind the leader.

"And you're out of backup buddy" calls out a humanly male voice as a black colored IS falls to the ground, landing on its feet gracefully.

Eyes widening, the lone Hyperion unit looks around wildly to discover in fact he was the last living unit. "Wh-who are you?"

"Who I am is of no consequence to you, but you attacked Gaige, Cecilia, Laura, and Charlotte. I find this to be quite unacceptable" answers the male voice from the IS.

Time having run out, Death Trap disappears, leaving only Gaige and the IS standing, the former breathing hard and bent over. Taking a step forward, the IS digistructs a rocket launcher that fires only a second later, creating a crater where the unnamed Hyperion unit leader stood. Turning its attention to the still happening battle, the all black IS doesn't move as Harbinger and Brain create a replica of the cannon that Schwarzer Regen has, charging. Suddenly Ichika and Sentinel zoom forward, sword drawn as he slashes downwards, sending the silvery colored IS in two pieces, hurtling towards the sandy beach below.

Turning to Gaige, the IS states, "I must be off, but don't worry about Helios Station."

"Who are you?" asks Gaige as she straightens her back.

"I am a prototype IS" answers the IS.

"What is your codename?"

Pausing, the IS answers, "I was only given a number, and it is 42. While I will appear in your available IS list, I will be conducting tests around the world. Only call on me if in the most grave of trouble or if your life is danger", before taking to the sky for twenty or thirty feet before disappearing completely from sight.

"Gaige, do you wish us to take this damaged IS back to the academy?" asks Harbinger as he and Brain walk up carrying a half of the rogue IS.

"Yes" answers Gaige absentmindedly as she looks over at her friends who remain unconscious.

"Charlotte! Cecilia! Laura!" shouts Houki as she and Ichika land.

Taking off, Harbinger and Brain head into the air as Houki, still in her IS, falls to her knees as she checks each girl's pulse. Air shimmering around the Akatsubaki, the air around the three prone girls begins to shimmer, and quickly the three begin to stir.

Crawling over, Dozer and Yurika proceed slowly as their badly damaged legs hang by a few wires behind them.

"Was the hospital attacked?" asks Gaige to Yurika.

"No, although SU has informed Miss Huang of the situation" answers Yurika.

"Please request that Caretaker arrives shortly to help Laura, Cecilia, and Charlotte. At least until Harbinger and Brain return to assist you two back to the academy. You two did very well" states Gaige looking up into the sky with a full moon.

Looking over at the five pilots with Miss Yamada and Chifuyu, all standing around, Gaige whispers to herself, "Maybe I don't belong here. Maybe Helios Station is better for me."

"Don't be stupid, this is where you belong" comes a male tenor from behind her.

Turning around, Gaige spots a grinning and bespectacled Andrew, arms crossed across his black t shirt, jeans, pair of black Converse near the edge of the cliff to the water below.

"Andrew?! What about the fight on Helios?" exclaims Gaige.

"Oh, the loader bots you designed down here had some copies made and fought. Hyperion ran away when blowing holes in the hull failed to help gain the traction that they were looking for. But never mind that, if you leave the IS Academy think of who'll leave behind. Gaige, your high school experience was interrupted on Eden-5 because of the science fair, so this is a second chance at enjoying the experiences and the friendships you'll create. So stick around and leave Helios in my hands while you enjoy the company of everyone" answers Andrew.

Pausing to collect her thoughts, Gaige answers, "Yeah, you're right. Thanks", giving Andrew a hug and a smile before running over to the others.

"Are you all alright?" asks Gaige as she gathers around the others.

"I-I think so" answers Cecilia unusually timid.

"Good. Miss Orimura, should they get inspected by a doctor, just in case?" asks Gaige with concern in her voice.

"I think it would be for the best. All of you, including you Miss Smith" states Chifuyu.

Groaning jokingly, Gaige answers, "That's fine."

* * *

Author note: Thanks for reading. Just to let you all know, once I reach the end of the second season of the anime in terms of where this fanfic is, then I'll essentially stop until more comes out in America. But fear not I'll more than likely hit the OVA at the end of season one and the extended episode of episode one in the second season.


	12. Decisions

Beta: None

Original release date: 12/23/2015

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Infinite Stratos or Borderlands universes. AU  
Author note: I discovered that Schwarzer Regen has a railgun instead of a cannon (of what I called it). My apologies. I plan on going back and correcting this previous chapters.

* * *

Chapter Twelve – Decisions

"What do you mean that you may not be able to repair Raphael-Revive, Schwarzer Regen, and Blue Tears?" exclaims Chifuyu as she, Miss Yamada, and Gaige stand under the school where Harbinger, Brain, and Caretaker stand looking over the three heavily damaged IS units.

"Simply that. They have taken structural damage in some of the most difficult locations to repair. Added in the minor repairs that Sentinel and Akatsubaki require, added in that even the world's most well trained IS technicians are unable to figure it out means that new units will be needed" answers Gaige as she looks over the projected damage list coming from her IS wristband.

"So they'd completely new IS units?" asks Miss Yamada quietly.

"IS units are millions of dollars apiece, so that's not happening" states Chifuyu.

Laughing, Gaige states, "Millions? I can build them for waaay cheaper than that. Like a few tons of metal worth, say ten thousand dollars."

Dumbfounded, Chifuyu asks suspiciously, "How can you do that so cheaply?"

"Follow me and I'll show you" answers Gaige as she exits the room.

Arriving at the now two compartments that Gaige uses for her machines, Gaige flicks the light switch in the compartment across from the original and a large, rectangular device sits in the middle of the floor, not powered on.

"So what are you going to show me, other than breaking the rules of taking a second compartment for your machines?" asks Chifuyu.

Walking to behind the machine, Gaige flips a large switch, which rumbles to life, before walking back to the front before clearing her throat and stating clearly, "Construct a vacuum cleaner."

Whirring to life, the machine rocks gently side to side before a beam of light from a small red 'eye' appears and goes from the floor and slowly upwards as a vacuum cleaner appears in front of them.

"And this can build an IS in under twelve hours, minus the core. This is how I propose we handle the 'fixing' of Schwarzer Regen, Raphael-Revive, and Blue Tears" states Gaige smiling.

"Where…where did you get this?" asks Chifuyu flabbergasted.

"I figure from Helios Station, where the original one was erected, after being built on Elpis."

"Then let's begin the new units" states Chifuyu.

"Problem, to do so successfully, this will need quite a bit of power, more than what the entire academy can provide at once. So, this might take days or even possibly weeks to achieve, even with my generators, which can provide more power than the academy" states Gaige, arms crossed.

"What type of generators are you using?! We do not allow any fossil fuel or nuclear powered ones inside the academy" states Chifuyu, visibly upset.

"I have two currently, both of which use unused IS cores to operate on" answers Gaige.

"Where did you get two cores from?" inquiries Chifuyu.

"From the two rogue IS units and the third from the old Sentinel."

"This shouldn't be too much of an issue, as it's a two week break, but leaving three Representative Candidates without their IS is problematic. Maya, what do you think we should do?" asks Chifuyu as she turns to Miss Yamada.

"We could, um, just keep them here?" adds Miss Yamada hesitantly.

"Harbinger. Get some of the heavy duty power cables and splice them into the cable that powers the FTS, so the generators can share the load as needed between the Constructor and the FTS" states Gaige as she walks across to the other compartment.

"I guess so, but I'm fairly certain that that idea would create a lot of pushback from those affected. But their safety is paramount" muses Chifuyu.

"Why don't we all go on a short vacation, Harbinger and Brain accompanies us, alongside Sentinel and Akatsubaki that have been repaired? I mean, Caretaker, Yurika, and Dozer can handle these machines, and there's always SU" suggests Gaige arriving back from the other compartment.

"Will five IS units cover seven of you?" asks Chifuyu.

"I can fight and so can Death Trap, remember? Don't worry about it."

"Where would you all go?" asks Miss Yamada.

"Dunno. Most anywhere beats Helios Station, especially until the lockdown is lifted. And waiting around here for the Constructor to do its job won't be productive" answers Gaige, stepping aside as Harbinger lays down an eight inch thick cable and connects it to the cable from the second generator to the Constructor.

"Hmm hmm, what an interesting tripping hazard you have here" states an unfamiliar female voice from the hallway.

"Miss Sarashiki, what are you doing down here at this time of night?" demands Chifuyu.

"I was merely coming to inspect our damaged IS units" answers a blue haired female with a fan in hand.

Ignoring the blue haired female, Gaige asks the two instructors, "Miss Yamada, Miss Orimura, should I solely design the new units, or let the pilots have some say in the design?"

"What do you think, Maya?" inquiries Chifuyu as she turns to Miss Yamada.

"I guess, um, if we aren't footing the bill, to let them have some say" answers Miss Yamada, slightly red from being embarrassed.

"Then I think it would be necessary to see who is awake and get them down here to work on what aspects they'd like, within reason, so I can get the plans into the Constructor and get units to begin being built" states Gaige right before the lights cut out before a few lights come back.

"Surely we didn't have that many lightbulbs burn out at once" remarks Chifuyu as she looks at the ceiling.

Furrowing her brows, Gaige taps a few things on her wristband, bringing up a holographic menu and remarking, "No, it looks like the power is out."

"But how are lights still on down here?" asks Miss Yamada.

"Oh, I added some emergency lights that are connected to my generators. A sparse few as Harbinger, Brain, SU, Caretaker, Dozer, and Yurika have thermal imaging sensors and can move around in the dark. But maybe some more sensors, such as infrared could be added and used as well. What I think the more important questions are, how did the power get cut, and why didn't/don't you all have generators in place just for things like this?"

"We DO have generators, but obviously they aren't either working or we didn't add any of the lights down here to the backup grid" answers Chifuyu, arms crossed.

"Harbinger, Yurika, go take a look at the generators and the substation. Dozer and Caretaker, stand guard down here. Brain go make a sweep through the hallways for any intruders" instructs Gaige, gaining no audible response.

"So what's the plan then?" asks the blue haired girl from the wall she is leaning up against.

Walking over to the girl, Gaige sticks out her right hand and says, "I'm Gaige, and you are?"

"Tatenashi. The pleasure is mine" answers Tatenashi.

"Well Tatenashi, I plan on getting the damaged IS units in here, remove their cores, add them to my generator array temporarily, and begin the process of virtualizing the damaged IS units into the Constructor, then supply it with some changes and allow it to begin the process of constructing new units. Dozer, Caretaker, please bring in Blue Tears, Schwarzer Regen, and Raphael-Revive in here" states Gaige.

One by one the damaged IS units stand somewhat sickly looking, in the compartment. Removing the cores, Gaige adds the three cores to the two generators, before moving Blue Tears five or six feet away from the Constructor.

"Stand back from the Constructor" instructs Gaige, activating the Constructor's 'Deconstruct' feature to build a blueprint of the unit. As a wide red beam hits the front of Blue Tears, going up and down as it scans, Gaige taps a few keys on the terminal, pausing it as she rotates the IS, doing this for each of the sides of the IS. A few minutes later, the beam flashes brightly for a few seconds before Blue Tears simply disappears from view.

"W-where did Blue Tears go?" asks Chifuyu, dumbfounded.

Tapping the Constructor, Gaige smiles, "It is gone, but now we can prepare for another version. A stronger version. Overall more powerful version."

"Sweep of dormitory hallways reveal no intruders. One student was found sneaking around on the third floor" states Brain as he holds up a silver haired girl with an eye patch.

Chuckling, Gaige says, "Laura, so nice of you to join us down here. Hey, don't touch that!"

Cocking her head to one side, Tatenashi answers, "Hmm, what are you going to do about me inspecting the equipment?"

"If you break the equipment, you'll have to pay for replacement parts. The estimated Earth cost for this Constructor is about eleven to fifteen million dollars. So if you have that laying around, plus the cost of three new IS units for Miss Bodewig, Miss Dunois, and Miss Alcott, then by all means go ahead and touch the machinery" answers Gaige giving Tatenashi a hard stare.

"Vhat is this about? How do you have power?" asks Laura as she looks around.

"Generators. Now, the damage that Schwarzer Regen has taken is greater than what can be repaired. We will be building you a new IS, however you are fortunate in that you can add some aspects to the unit before it is built. What would you like to see?" answers Gaige.

"I vould like to retain my AIC as vell as my railgun. Mostly black vith red trim" states Laura.

"So…nothing new? Just the basic spec increases of being a fourth gen unit?" asks Gaige curiously.

"Vell, vhat else vould I vant?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Gaige remarks, "Why not have two railguns? I mean, with two battery packs attached, I don't see why it wouldn't be possible."

"Vait, vas power the only issue vith having dual railguns? Is that vhy Schwarzer Regen didn't have two?"

"It might have been. Weight might have also been a possible problem, but with a more lightweight material which is as equally as strong, if not stronger, in addition to the power source fix, I don't see why you couldn't. Might give any opponents a reason to not want to challenge you" states Gaige as she begins scrawling notes across a nearby piece of paper for half a minute or so before asking, "Anything else?"

Pausing to think, Laura answers, "I vould like to have stronger shields."

"Oh, that's a given with a fourth generation unit. But, if you're willing to let me add a feature that will be revealed in time, I think you'll like it" mentions Gaige.

Shrugging her shoulders, Laura answers, "Vhy not? Might as vell."

Moving Schwarzer Regen in front of the Constructor, Gaige quickly explains what she is doing before scanning Schwarzer Regen into the system. As Schwarzer Regen disappears, Gaige goes to the terminal on the side of the Constructor and types rapidly for a few minutes, referencing the paper with her notes on at the same time. Tapping a few last buttons, Gaige smiles as the Constructor hums to life, overhead lights dimming briefly at the startup of the machine.

As the red beam of light points diagonally towards the floor where little by little the feet of the new Schwarzer Regen begin to form.

"How long vill it take to build?" inquiries Laura curiously.

"Depending on any power fluctuations, it might take eight to twelve hours, it might take six, or it might take an entire day. It just depends" answers Gaige, before her right hand flies to her right ear and she steps away.

"Uh huh. That's not good at all. Depart immediately and get her taken care of. Understood. Thanks" states Gaige in a concerned tone before rejoining Laura by the Constructor, with Tatenashi joining them watching as the Constructor works.

"So Gaige, what was that all about, hmm?" inquiries Tatenashi.

Pausing to take a few breaths, Gaige answers slowly, "It seems SU, who was watching over Ling as she recovers, discovered Ling coughing up blood. SU is departing to take Ling back to the hospital, despite her objections."

"But her medical information is here, and our power is out, so we can't access it" points out Chifuyu as she and Miss Yamada join them.

"Oh, don't worry about that. We dumped the entire academy's databases and servers to our own disks. You may want to switch to a higher level encryption and stronger passwords when going forward with your network security. SU has a copy of Ling's medical information, so she can have the best medical attention" answers Gaige.

"And shouldn't I charge you with theft?" demands Chifuyu.

"Because you'd have a dead student on your hands if SU and rest of us weren't here? I'm helping push the IS industry forwards with technology where it has begun to stagnate. This of this as a reason to update your security so if I was a real hacker, it would take me longer to get at the information before you boot me off the network" answers Gaige as she checks the terminal attached to the Constructor to watch for any unusual activity.

"So vhat do ve do about sleep?" inquiries Laura looking around.

Striding across the hallway to the original compartment that she had commandeered, Gaige comes back with a blanket and pillow and answers, "I for one will be sleeping in the comforting feeling of being around machines. You all are welcome to stay here and sleep in a darkened corner or go back to your own rooms. But you do it without any assistance from my machine friends. Not at least until Brain and Yurika arrive back."

Setting her pillow and purple blanket down in a corner away from the rest, Gaige pulls her goggles down and closes her eyes.

Sighing, Chifuyu states as Laura and Tatenashi look at her for guidance, "There are some spare blankets and pillows down the hallway in an unused storeroom. But I'm going to bed in my own bed."

Taking off towards the stairs to the upper floors, Chifuyu and Miss Yamada go in the opposite direction as Laura and Tatenashi, who opt to retrieve blankets and pillows and enjoy a weird, but still plausibly called 'sleepover' in the compartment with the safety of the VIGIL controlled units standing sentry, and the dim, but still present lighting.

* * *

Author note: Thanks for reading! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! Hope all goes well for you all. :)

-Telron, I didn't think it would be terribly interesting to have only the rogue IS to contend with, so why not add in some more adversaries? It keeps more interesting and definitely levels the playing field a bit more. But thank you for your review.


	13. Competition Heats Up

Beta: None

Original release date: 1/2/2016

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Infinite Stratos or Borderlands universes. AU

* * *

Chapter Thirteen – Competition Heats Up

"What do you mean something escaped from Handsome Jack's office?!" exclaims Gaige speaking into her earpiece.

"Ugh, fine. Just keep me informed on any updates" states Gaige after the caller answers.

"Gaige, Dr. Shinonono is planning a public appearance in a few hours; the first since her announcement of the Infinite Stratos ten years ago" states Harbinger standing fifteen or so feet away.

"I wonder what it could be about" muses Gaige aloud.

"Unknown. But a stage with a reinforced frame has been erected for her" answers Harbinger.

"I'm attending, no matter if I have to crash the event" declares Gaige.

"Understood."

"Luckily there aren't any classes this morning. How fares Ling?" asks Gaige peering out over the ocean lapping at the beach quite far below, sun beginning to rise on the horizon.

"She has quickly stabilized and is expected to make quite a recovery in the few days. SU remains on constant vigilance for any down turn in her health" answers Harbinger.

"Have we figured out what caused the power outage last night?"

"Multiple of the power lines leading to the academy were cut from the main substation. They should be repaired by sunset" answers Harbinger.

"I'm coming vith you" comes a female voice from behind the two.

"That would be best, as a German plane is on its way to Japan" remarks Harbinger emotionlessly.

"Laura, I believe Schwarzer Regen is almost done. Let's get it suited up, given a core, and see what gender you would like it to use" states Gaige as she turns around and heads back to the academy.

Arriving back at the two compartments that her units take up, Gaige stops as Cecilia and Charlotte stand by with their arms crossed, looks of fury on their faces.

"Hello Charlotte, Cecilia, it's so wonderful to see you" states Gaige as she retrieves one of the IS cores for use in Schwarzer Regen that had just finished being constructed.

"Where is Blue Tears? And don't tell me you don't know" demands Cecilia.

"Blue Tears is both gone and not gone. I'll let you two ladies figure out who's IS gets built next" answers Gaige inserting the core, beginning the boot sequence.

"Now Laura, please hand me your IS activation accessory, so I can create you one to work with fourth generation and newer units" asks Gaige politely.

Removing her IS link from her thigh, Laura hands it to Gaige who holds it in front of the Constructor that adds it to the database, before almost promptly creating another. Several seconds later Gaige picks the new one, identical to the previous one, off of the floor and brushes it off gently before handing to Laura.

"Thanks" states Laura as she looks up at Schwarzer Regen, identically looking as the first version.

"Now, Charlotte, Cecilia, have you two decided who's IS gets built next? The longer we wait, the longer it will take to create you a new one" states Gaige, tapping her foot on the floor.

"I shall" announces Cecilia stepping forward.

"Would you like your new Blue Tears to look the same as before, but with the fourth generation modifications?" asks Gaige walking the short distance to the terminal.

"Yes. And I want a higher powered rifle with my four Interceptor Bit units to be faster, sturdier, and stronger" states Cecilia.

"You can have a slightly modified original model where they will be created permanently, or you can go with the digistructed versions that can be constantly created, as long as you have enough power to go through the digistruct process. This will be a separate set of mini constructors that will only be able to create your Interceptor Bit units, with your two arm mounted mini constructors for your standard weaponry" states Gaige, fingers hovering over the keyboard.

"Um, what do you recommend?" asks Cecilia completely taken aback.

"I recommend letting Blue Tears digistruct them as needed. This way, they can be upgraded remotely and then digistructed as needed" answers Gaige.

"I'll go with that then" states Cecilia regaining her composure.

"Would you like one or two arm mounted mini constructors?"

"Wait, I can have Blue Tears use more than one weapon at a time?" inquiries Cecilia.

"If you want to dual wield rifles you can. Or, you can give me some creative input and finish a few aspects just for Blue Tears, if you would like" answers Gaige.

"I'll trust your judgement" comes Cecilia once again taken aback.

Fingers flying across the keyboard, Gaige finally stops half a minute later as the Constructor whirrs to life.

"Gaige, I recommend leaving shortly for the public apperance" states Harbinger.

"Alright, Yurika, Brain, keep watch with the others while Laura, Harbinger, and I go to the press release that Dr. Shinonono is planning. Permission granted to use the network to watch it here" states Gaige as she, Laura, Harbinger, and Schwarzer Regen make their way out of the academy.

* * *

/*elsewhere*/

"And here she is ladies and gentlemen, Dr. Tabane Shinonono!" announces a male voice as Tabane walks onto the stage.

"I'm here today to announce that fourth generation IS units will now be able to be built by any country with the proper certifications. Yay!" announces Tabane in a singsong voice.

A rush of voices clamber and Tabane holds up her hands and points to one of the reporters who asks with a deeper sounding voice, "What is different about the fourth generation units from the third generation units?"

"They are made from a stronger and more lightweight material, meaning they can go at higher speeds for longer. They also have slightly upgraded attack power" answers Tabane.

"Do the fourth gen units have better defense?" asks a female reporter.

"Certainly! The old and clunky third generation units were capped at one thousand at max, with most around seven hundred to eight hundred. These new fourth generation models have five thousand shield energy! Tee hee" answers Tabane.

"How does a country get certified to build these new units?" asks a third reporter.

"By submitting an application to me, and paying for my travel expenses, I shall come and check the facility out myself."

"Are there any countries that meet the certifications currently?"

"Of course! Germany has been certified to build these new units beginning immediately" answers Tabane smiling.

"And how do these units compare to the fourth generation units already in use at the IS Academy?" comes Gaiges voice from the middle of the crowd.

Whispers go through the crowd as the news that fourth generation units have already been made.

"Oh, Gaige-chan, it's wonderful to see you!" calls out Tabane.

As the crowd around Gaige and Laura disappears, Gaige walks closer with Laura close behind before getting on the stage.

"So you've seen Harbinger, Akatsubaki, and Sentinel, fourth generation units you called them when you delivered them to the academy, but that is this about partnering with countries and licensing the VIGIL system into IS units?" demands Gaige, her hands on her hips.

"Oh, they don't need the VIGIL system" laughs Tabane.

"And let me guess…they also don't need the mini constructors that allows weapons to be built on the fly based on the collection that the pilot has purchased a license for" states Gaige.

"Of course not. An IS only needs one or two primary weapons with a few unique weapons" answers Tabane, tone growing more serious.

"And five thousand shield? The rest of ours have fifteen thousand shield!" exclaims Gaige.

"And yours are designed for combat whereas mine are designed for simple competiveness and not warfare" answers Tabane.

"Just because most of the world agrees that IS units aren't to be used as weapons doesn't mean someone or some group won't use them for nefarious purposes!" states Gaige stamping her foot in consternation.

"Relax Gaige-chan, the Alaska Treaty-" begins Tabane.

"The Alaska Treaty can only be effectively enforced if all IS units are able to be monitored and shut down if stolen or used to break the treaty. That is why our version of the units are better as they only have access to digistructed weapons if their network card has been authorized and is still authorized to create the weapons. If one were to be stolen, we can blacklist their network card and keep them from using IS strength weapons on the public. In addition to that, the VIGIL system can override a pilot's instructions in accordance to the Alaska Treaty and keep the public safe" interrupts Gaige loudly.

"You may have an idea there, Gaige-chan. But that could very well constitute a violation of privacy, remotely monitoring the pilots" states Tabane smiling.

"We don't listen in, but the VIGIL system handles it and informs the database to update the license status. There are two of us handling this entire project, with the wonderful VIGIL system handing modifications to its own code with administer approval to the code repository" remarks Gaige, arms still crossed.

"Anyways~ Germany shall have my personal guidance when building the first of MY fourth generation IS units and will be made for the representative candidate-" begins Tabane before Laura joins the stage and interrupts, "But Gaige has just made me a fourth generation IS unit."

Turning to the side slowly with a frozen smile on her face, Tabane answers, "Did she now? But it won't be as good as mine, I guarantee that."

Deploying Schwarzer Regen, Laura flexes the arms and answers, "Vorks fine for me. And" before activating both of the railguns, "now I have dual railguns vhere as before I didn't."

"Still a military aspect that isn't needed" states Tabane.

"And I have a life support system for vhen I am in aerial combat and the atmosphere is too thin. Does your fourth generation IS units have that?" inquiries Laura curiously.

"Of course! I would never abandon the pilot" answers Tabane.

"How about if the pilot becomes incapacitated for whatever reason? Is the IS able to control itself and give a greater chance of pilot survival? Or do you think that your 'Absolute Defense' will handle ALL of the possible damage that the pilot can sustain?" inquiries Gaige.

"Are you challenging me to an engineering competition, Gaige-chan?" asks Tabane sweetly.

Opening her mouth to speak, Gaige is interrupted by a projection coming from her wristband. "Gaige, we now have a company to sell our IS weapon licenses through; Vault Hunting Enterprise LLC", before disappearing.

Smiling, Gaige answers with, "Tabane, I bet that Vault Hunting Enterprise LLC can out-engineer you. Let the best engineering team win."

Returning the smile, Tabane shakes Gaige's outstretched hand and states, "Let the best engineer win, and that'll be me! Teehee~"

"Vait, are you telling me I have four railguns?!" exclaims Laura as two more appear, one on each arm, in addition to the two shoulder mounted ones.

"I think that one can never have enough fire power, and Mr. Torgue thinks the same" states Gaige as she turns back to Laura.

"You made a fourth generation IS for us?" comes an unfamiliar female voice from behind Gaige, still on the stage.

"I did. This version of Schwarzer Regen is based off of the original, but has our fourth generation specifications" answers Gaige as she turns around.

"How much do ve owe you for it?" asks the brown haired female with a German accent.

"Oh, don't worry about it. It's Laura's free and clear" answers Gaige.

"Thank you. I am Angela Brunderheit, German Cancellor. Ve appreciate your vork and assistance to young Laura" smiles Angela.

* * *

/*at the academy*/

Entering the lit area around the two compartments, Ichika looks around confused before musing out loud, "I wonder why there are lights on here but no where else."

"There are two generators to provide lighting" answers Brain stepping out of the compartment on Ichika's right.

"Oh. So does anyone know why the power is out?" asks Ichika walking into the second compartment.

"The lines from the substation to the academy have been cut. They are being replaced by the power company currently" answers Brain.

"Oh ok. Uh, what's that?" asks Ichika pointing to the partially built Blue Tears in front of the Constructor.

"My new IS apparently" states Cecilia with some disdain in her voice.

"At least you get yours first, Cecilia" states Charlotte sitting on the floor with her back to the wall.

"What do you mean 'new IS'? What's wrong with your old one?" asks Ichika.

"The old Blue Tears has been deconstructed, reconfigured, and is being digistructed" answers Brain.

Turning to Brain, Ichika asks quizzically, "I see. You sound different. Did you change something?"

"I am an Artificial Intelligence and I learn from listening to how others converse" answers Brain emotionless as ever.

"Oh, that makes sense now that you say that. So Cecilia, what's new your IS like?" asks Ichika.

"I'm not certain, but it'd better be as stylish as me" comes Cecilia's voice from across the compartment.

"Oh. Where's Laura, Ling, and Gaige?" asks Ichika.

"Ling is currently at the hospital for coughing up blood and Gaige and Laura, alongside Harbinger and Schwarzer Regen, are at a public appearance of Dr. Tabane Shinonono" answers Brain.

"Wait, Ling is back in the hospital?!" exclaims Ichika, Charlotte, and Cecilia in unison.

"She has begun to recover. SU is monitoring her vitals. It may be a few more days before she is released" answers Brain.

"Annnnnd that ended worse than I expected" comes Gaige's voice as she, Laura, Harbinger, and Schwarzer Regen enter.

"What happened?" inquiries Charlotte as she gets off of the floor and walks over.

Opening her mouth to speak, Gaige is interrupted by Harbinger's gravely yet still emotionless voice, "She and Tabane agreed to compete against each other regarding IS development and whom would achieve better results."

"Based on her statements and Andrew's research and developmental progress, Tabane will not win this in the immediate future. However, she is the creator of the IS system and may surprise us" remarks Brain.

Sighing, Gaige asks tiredly, "Is it possible for you two to work on creating a more human-like tone with actual inflection? If so, please begin, if not, don't say anything, thanks."

"How long is this going to take?" whines Cecilia looking at the partially developed knee sections of Blue Tears.

"This is going to be shorter than building Blue Tears by hand. So just wait until tonight or tomorrow morning to have her ready" answers Gaige.

As the air begins to move a bit, Chifuyu enters the compartment and states, "The power has been restored and you should be able to enjoy the rest of the day as you see fit."

Walking over to Chifuyu, Gaige whispers quietly, "Would it be alright if we replaced all of the training IS units with newer units? For free of course, but if we could bring fourth generation technology and educate the students, I think it would be a plus to everyone."

"Miss Smith, I am well aware of your outburst at Dr. Shinonono's public announcement regarding her fourth generation units. We teachers shall convene and discuss the merits of both types of fourth generation machines before reaching a final decision one way or another" states Chifuyu in an emotionless tone, arms crossed.

"Understood" answers Gaige.

"Now, as there is a break for the next two weeks, we need to know who is staying and who is leaving" announces Chifuyu.

"Yurika, what is the status of the Fast Travel network?" calls out Gaige to the other compartment.

"Currently the network is disconnected" answers Yurika.

"I'll remain here then. Besides, Ling will need someone she's familiar with other than SU or Caretaker when she gets back" states Gaige with a smile.

"I have some duties to take care of back in England, however, I can't go back without Blue Tears" states Cecilia with a glare at Gaige.

"As long as you don't have to call Blue Tears when you land, I don't see why I can't get her finished and ready to be called from here. You would need a new activation accessory though" remarks Gaige.

"But I love my earrings!" cries out Cecilia.

"We can make them look like they haven't been modified at all, but it will have to happen after we finish building Blue Tears" states Gaige.

"Is there any way to speed up the process?" inquiries Cecilia looking at the partially built IS unit.

"If I had enough power, I don't see why we couldn't ramp it up and finish it faster. However, it would be quite a power draw, and the time it would be reduced by would be negligible until the source of electricity reaches to the third power of the current input of 512 megawatts per second" states Gaige.

Silence falls on the group before Tatenashi asks, "Megawatts per second? Do you mean megawatts per hour?"

Shaking her head, Gaige answers, "No, megawatts per second. IS cores are quite powerful and can kill you if you handle it incorrectly. Which reminds me, Yurika, please retrieve the core from the rogue IS and insert it into the primary Constructor generator. That will shave a few minutes off of the build."

"Is there a way to create the earrings before I leave?" inquiries Cecilia.

Growling softly, Gaige answers angrily, "Just go back to England and I'll have Blue Tears return to you."

"But someone will notice an IS flying over the world, especially when it can be tracked easily back to England!" exclaims Miss Yamada and Tatenashi in unison.

Smiling, Gaige replies, "Not when Blue Tears has optical camouflage and heat sinks that should keep it from being detected unless someone is looking up at a moment with high powered detection equipment. I'll have Blue Tears deliver the earrings, if you can bother leaving them with me currently. Or, I can attempt to use the data in Blue Tears to create a new pair, but it may not work."

Sighing, Cecilia slowly unclips her earrings and walks them over to Gaige who holds out her right hand.

"But you'd better not ruin any of this" warns Cecilia.

"If anything, I'll send along a few other units to guard Blue Tears or to distract any units. Anyways, don't worry about it" remarks Gaige smiling.

"She has optical camouflage?! That's so cool!" exclaims Charlotte.

"I'll help give your IS something cool too. You just need to brain storm some ideas and we can talk together to get them implemented" comments Gaige as she turns to face Charlotte.

"Right, I'll be off then. Ta ta for now ladies, and Ichika…" states Cecilia as she walks out of the compartment, giving Ichika a look.

"Keep me posted on Miss Huang's condition, Miss Smith" states Chifuyu as she and Miss Yamada exit the compartment.

"I have other business to attend to. Stay out of trouble" remarks Tatenashi as she exits the compartment, giving a look to the occupants over her shoulder.

Clapping her hands together, Gaige turns and asks, "Charlotte, let's talk about your IS…"

* * *

Author note: Thanks for reading! Telron, I rewatched episodes 10-12 and didn't see Laura having two railguns active at the same time. However, that doesn't mean that she didn't have them. A few notes, such as 'Vault Hunting Enterprise LLC', I wanted a name for the work that Gaige and Andrew (background) do and the likes. So hopefully Gearbox doesn't come chase me down to change it. Angela Brunderheit's name is something that I picked out of my head. If there is a living person with this name, they had nothing to do with this story. And hopefully no one finds it offensive/stereotypical, etc. I also didn't want to use the last name of one of my friends that has German roots, for various reasons such as privacy.


	14. Upgrades and a Break

Beta: None

Original release date: 1/15/2016

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Infinite Stratos or Borderlands universes. AU

Author note: This chapter may be longer than normal (which is between 2.5k to 3k words generally) so the story can proceed and not get bogged down so much.

* * *

Chapter Fourteen – Upgrades and a Break

Scanning Cecilia's earrings into the Constructor database, Gaige stands back as the Constructor builds the modified pair of earrings. Putting the earrings into a small envelope, Gaige begins a system check before inserting the previously removed IS core. ' _We need to figure out how to replicate these cores, or build our own power supply that isn't volatile and smaller than what Tabane has been using'_ thinks Gaige to herself as she walks around Blue Tears, inspecting her.

"Miss Smith, I demand that you make available to the staff and I the ability to communicate with the pilots. I don't care so much about you as you've shown your resilience, but your fellow pilots aren't like you-" begins Chifuyu.

Turning around angrily, Gaige interrupts, "Of course they aren't like me, they've been raised on their birth planet, had fairly normal upbringing, minus Laura's exclusive military training after being created in a lab! I've been on the run from having miscalibrating DeathTrap that KILLED Marcie who pushed me. Then having to survive on the harsh surface of Pandora, watching out for a psychopathic individual who raised the eight hundred and twenty billion bounty and put it on my head. But that all aside, the only reason why you can't communicate with these newer IS units is your communication equipment, while still fairly new compared to the rest of the world, lacks the ability to communicate on the same frequencies that newer units operate on. That won't be a hard fix, and I'll get that into the queue, once Charlotte's Raphael-Revive is done being built, alongside her activation accessory."

Pausing at the outburst, Chifuyu answers in a kinder voice, not often heard, "I'm sorry what has happened to you has happened. But dwelling on the past won't do you any good", before changing her tone to be more authoritative, "Before you send Blue Tears to Miss Alcott, I would like to know its abilities."

"Optical camouflage, single arm mounted mini constructor unit, with a more powerful version of her StarDust Shooter rifle, four dedicated Inteceptor Bit constructors, fifteen thousand shield, one standard battery, with the standard Atmospheric Retention Fields for pilot survival in high atmospheric conditions, and a sole oxygen tank with approximately seven and a half to ten minutes worth of oxygen. Spec wise, Blue Tears is slightly lighter than the others, so the reusable boosters can fire for longer, while dealing with opponents from over a kilometer away with decent accuracy and power" answers Gaige in an offhand tone.

Writing down as quickly as Gaige rattles off the information, Chifuyu gives Gaige a small smile before instructing, "Don't let Blue Tears be caught while in rout to Cecilia, are we clear?"

"Certainly are. Don't worry, she'll be fine, especially with life support systems not needing to be run, solar cells in the wings while in flight, so she'll be able to continue at quite a pace" states Gaige handing Blue Tears the envelope.

"I'm not impressed with your answer" states Chifuyu crossing her arms.

"I find your lack of faith in Blue Tears disturbing" replies Gaige, crossing her arms too.

"System status optimal, proceeding to England" states Blue Tear's female voice before exiting the compartment.

Seconds after Blue Tears leaves, Gaige smiles and walks over to the terminal attached to the Constructor and begins to type rapidly before stopping and letting the machine begin the process of constructing Raphael-Revive into a fourth generation model.

"Despite it being a break, I still expect you to sleep in your room" states Chifuyu from the opening of the compartment.

Rolling her eyes with her back turned to Chifuyu, Gaige answers, "Yes ma'am. Yurika, please keep an eye on overnight, and let me know if something goes wrong."

Exiting the compartment behind Chifuyu, Gaige turns off the lights and heads back to her room, digistructed vacuum cleaner and Caretaker in her wake. The next morning, Gaige exits her lonely room, Caretaker remaining with the vacuum to better clean without any concerns for being in Gaige's way. Taking a bowl of porridge, some lean looking strips of bacon, rice, with a few other items, Gaige takes a seat in the fairly empty cafeteria, despite it being eight thirty in the morning.

"Gaige, when will my IS be ready?" comes a familiar female and French voice from behind her.

Wordlessly Gaige turns over her left arm and pulls up a holographic display, switching through a few different menus, before coming to rest on a display with a miniaturized version of Raphael-Revive and a '100%' beside the 'Digistruct rate:' indicator.

"It looks like Yurika disapproved that I did not subject Schwarzer Regen and Blue Tears to full system checks before releasing them to Laura and Cecilia" answers Gaige before resuming her meal.

"And what does that mean for me?" asks Charlotte starting to get angry.

"Yurika is running a full system check on Raphael-Revive. Otherwise your IS activation accessory has been digistructed as has Raphael-Revive. So either wait until the check is done, or go talk with Yurika about having her end the check now" states Gaige before yawning.

"I have to go back to France for an important meeting, and I need to have access to my IS" states Charlotte insistently.

"Then go get your necklace from Yurika and go back to France. Despite what you might think, Raphael-Revive, in addition to all of the other IS units I've built retain the functionality of manifesting itself to your location through the activation accessory. She'll come to your location when you need her" answers Gaige in the same tone.

"But what if I want Raphael-Revive to be male?" asks Charlotte.

"Then tell Raphael-Revive what gender you would like them to speak in, and they shall" answers Gaige a hint of irritation in her voice.

Getting the hint, Charlotte walks away with a bleary eyed Laura walks by heading towards Gaige. "Morning" mutters Laura as she sits down and begins to eat.

"My my, what do we have here?" comes a familiar female voice.

Looking up, Gaige does a double take before jumping to her feet and giving the newcomer a hug.

"Not so hard there" Ling says as Gaige releases her hold on her.

"It's good to have you back and to see you healthier than before" states Gaige as she smiles.

"Yeah well, it was terrible being stuck in the hospital for so long" answers Ling bitterly.

"But think about this, you're out now and can enjoy the twelve days or so that we have left before classes resume" remarks Gaige.

"I do need to pilot Schwarzer Regen and learn more about it" thinks Laura out loud.

"What's to learn more about your IS? I mean, you've been piloting it for a while, haven't you?" asks Ling curiously.

"Oh, since Gaige replaced him vith a fourth generation, I haven't really gotten to pilot him" answers Laura.

"OH, speaking of which Ling, despite Shenlong not being damaged like Laura's, Cecilia's, and Charlotte's were, I can build you a new IS, if you would like. A fourth generation model by my specs, and not Tabane's" adds Gaige before Ling manages to spew fire at Gaige.

"Whattya mean, 'build a new IS'? What's wrong with Shenlong?" demands Ling.

"Nothing is wrong. But it is a third generation unit, when Tabane has just announced her own line of fourth generation models" answers Gaige.

"Jeez, I cough up blood, go to the hospital, and come back to find that everyone is getting a fourth generation model, and that there are apparently two developers creating rival fourth generation machines. I was only gone for like four days, right? And did I miss anything?" asks Ling sarcastically.

"Yeah, Shenlong has become lonely because you haven't piloted her in such a long time. Otherwise, yes, that happened" answers Gaige.

"Gaige, how many shots can I get vith all four railguns before I can no longer fire?" inquiries Laura curiously.

Looking between Gaige and Laura, Ling shouts, "FOUR RAILGUNS?! YOU GAVE HER FOUR FREAKING RAILGUNS?!" before sitting down, clutching her chest as she breathes in heavily.

"I gave her two shoulder mounted railguns with the ability to digistruct two railguns using the two mini-constructors on Schwarzer Regen's arms" answers Gaige calmly as she looks at Ling.

"To answer your question, it depends on the status of Schwarzer Regen. How much of a charge you give each railgun as they are adjustable to use less to have more shots, if you are using an AIC at the same time, what the status is over your batteries, if you are out of competition and facing an actual opponent, using the aim assistant of course, plus being in the air with life support system on…who knows. Just as Schwarzer Regen, he'll be able to give you better estimates on shot count" answers Gaige.

"I want a more powerful IS as well" states Ling grumpily.

"You need to eat, Ling" states a female and somewhat robotic voice from behind Ling.

"Argh, you keep hounding me about things. Ok, I get it, I need to do so many things to keep my health up, but you're smothering me" complains Ling.

"I am assisting you in the upkeep of your health, especially in this time of recovery" states SU.

"SU, I'll help make certain she's fine, so will Caretaker. So relax a bit, do some research, but don't worry so much about Ling" comments Gaige.

"Understood. Disabling 'Verbatim Mode'" states SU before exiting the cafeteria.

Turning back to Ling, Gaige asks, "What would you like to see in a revised version of Shenlong? If I remember correctly she has both close quarters combat and mid to long distance attacking capabilities."

"More speed and power of course. Um, just overall more power and speed" answers Ling.

"I can make Shenlong really fast, but that won't translate directly into mobility. The faster you go, the harder it will be for you to control personally" states Gaige.

"Ugh, fine then. More speed than before but still highly maneuverable" grumbles Ling crossing her arms.

"How about I jack the speed factor up really high, and then we dial it in as you feel comfortable, giving you what you want, while retaining the mobility you'll need during a fight, whether it be competitive or for your life" remarks Gaige.

"Great!" exclaims Ling before coughing and breathing deeply for a few seconds before continuing, "When will it be ready?"

"Assuming we take the IS core out of Shenlong and add it to the few we have to help power the Constructor, deconstruct Shenlong, update the blueprint, I'd say somewhere around twenty four hours to thirty six hours, possibly longer depending on other conditions" answers Gaige.

"That is much longer than it took to build mine" states Laura with a hint of confusion in her voice.

"That is because we had to place the IS cores in a specialized container to keep them from radiating their energy, quite possibly electrocuting anyone who got close enough. But when constructing your IS, Laura, we had more cores available to power the Constructor. With Shenlong being the last one to be constructed, there are three fewer cores, not including Shenlong's current core, available to power the Constructor. Without being connected directly to a power plant, the Constructor will take a while to construct the units due to the copious amounts of power required to do so" answers Gaige calmly.

"Well, just start on it, please" asks Ling before beginning to eat some of the small bowl of white rice in front of her.

Tapping a bit on the holographic projection, Gaige smiles and says, "The process of entering Shenlong into the system to be created has begun. Don't forget to rest" before leaving to put her dishes onto the conveyor to the kitchen as Caretaker arrives.

Disappearing into the depths of the academy, Gaige fails to realize what time it is as she moves around the two compartments she, her equipment, and set of IS and Loader Bots, occupy. Checking the time for the first time in many hours, Gaige mentally shrugs as she wearily exits the compartments and makes her way to the cafeteria for breakfast.

"You never came back to the room last night and you left me alone with, with, Caretaker of whatever his name is!" exclaims Ling as she puts her tray down somewhat violently across from Gaige.

"That is his name. I was busy cleaning up, tinkering with some machines, just stuff like that" answers Gaige calmly before beginning to eat her breakfast.

"SMITH! What is this about?!" demans Chifuyu throwing a newspaper onto the table in front of Gaige.

'Mysterious Unmanned IS Spotted Over Scandinavian Countries' as the headline reads, with a photo of a fuzzy and dark colored IS high in the sky.

"Is it something about an unmanned IS that has been spotted flying over a few countries?" asks Gaige innocently.

Nostrils flaring, Chifuyu growls in a dangerously quiet voice, "You know full well it does. Explain immediately."

"Based on an assumption that this was caught on camera yesterday, I'll have to say that none of the IS units that I've designed have been anywhere near the Scandinavian countries" answers Gaige calmly.

"Then what is that?!" demands Chifuyu, crossing her arms.

"You realize that there is another who can produce unmanned IS technology; Tabane Shinonono. Other than that, it might be runaway unit from Helios Station. The one that either activated itself, or got an activation command from someone on the station, and left Jack's office, made it to the Moonshot Cannon, and fired itself towards earth, despite the control panel isn't supposed to be activated without an entity standing by it" answers Gaige.

"I want a location of all IS units that you have designed and built" states Chifuyu giving Gaige a hard stare.

Tapping around on her wristband, Gaige announces, "All IS units have been in Japan for the past few weeks, minus two units. Blue Tears made it to England and reports that it did not take a course over the Scandinavian countries. That was two to three days ago. 42, a prototype unit, has been in Antarctica for the past two weeks. It currently hasn't moved further than about a fifty meter radius from what it calls 'camp'."

"An-Antarctica? Why there?" asks Chifuyu caught off guard.

Shrugging her shoulders, Gaige replies, "All I know is that he is a prototype unit and is currently conducting research. SU is reporting being about five hundred meters in depth in the Pacific Ocean currently."

"Please remind me what SU is doing at that depth" states Chifuyu.

"Research. Her primary functionality is to conduct research while 42 also conducts research, but with a different set of variables and tests to conduct" answers Gaige.

"Are they able to be piloted?" inquiries Chifuyu.

"While they are technically able to be piloted, they are prototype units not meant for human interaction. They have a different version of the VIGIL system that makes them want to stay in adverse conditions in the name of research while the version of the VIGIL system that is currently used in all primarily pilotable IS units is to place the pilots life above the survival of the unit at all costs."

"What do you mean by 'research'?" asks Chifuyu, still standing with her arms crossed.

"I haven't a clue what they were assigned to research. Andrew is the one who gave them their primary tasks, and I was only added in so if my own life was in danger, that they would save me. Otherwise I have little control over them. SU seems to be more responsive to me, but 42 only gives periodic location updates, otherwise he hasn't responded to any of my information requests, despite having an acknowledgement that he has in fact received such requests" answers Gaige.

"How do you know that he has received such requests?"

"It's based off of TCP, or Transmission Control Protocol which establishes a connection, or attempts to make a connection, and if no response is given after X amount of seconds or attempts, fails. If the initial connection is successfully made/acknowledged by both sides, information regarding how many packets that will be sent, and the receiving side will send confirmation of packets received. If any of the packets aren't received, then a request for the resending of all packets ensues, making certain that the receiving party does get the request(s)" answers Gaige

"Packets? What does that have to do with anything?" asks Chifuyu, finally taking a seat beside Ling, who shifts uncomfortably to one side.

"The packets contain the request(s) or information being sent to the other party. This can be done in a few different configurations for most computers, but all fourth generation designed IS units use both the Client/Server and Peer to Peer connection types simultaneously, using one of the various cards, with all units here that are designated as fourth generation being upgraded overnight with T-1000 network cards" answers Gaige.

"That is because third generation and older IS units do not have these cards, unable to power the cards, in addition lacking the processing power and protocols to send and receive information this way, correct?" asks a quiet voice from behind Gaige.

Turning around, Gaige smiles as she sees a blue haired girl with glasses and triangular hairpins standing behind her, cafeteria tray in hand. Patting chair beside her, Gaige says, "Feel free to join us if you want to."

Setting her tray down gently before sitting down, the newcomer begins to eat quietly with a few pairs of eyes watching her before Gaige asks, "You're Sarashiki Kanzashi, correct?"

Taken aback, the new girl nods before asking quietly, "How did you know?"

"Oh, Caretaker there has facial recognition software and just had to sift through the academy's dumped database to find your name" answers Gaige.

"I'm not surprised that you were able to make a replica of the database. I mentioned before that the security was very lax" mentions Kanzashi before beginning to eat her rice and salmon.

Laughing, Gaige smiles and says, "I like your attitude. And your knowledge of computers, protocols, and even IS units, is quite refreshing."

"Thank you" murmurs Kanzashi before returning to her meal.

Yawning, Gaige covers her mouth before saying, "Alright, I'm heading to bed. Alert me if Shenlong is finished being constructed before I awaken."

Having finished her meal, Kanzashi slips out of the cafeteria as well. Entering the cafeteria, Ichika walks right by Kanzashi with Laura close behind him. Spotting Ling, Ichika hurries over and gives Ling a hug, who turns red.

"When did you get back?" asks Ichika sitting across from Ling.

"Yesterday" states Ling grumpily.

"I wish I knew then, I would have come over with some food or something. It's great to have you back" beams Ichika.

' _I wish he knew how he makes me feel inside'_ thinks Ling to herself.

"Vhy don't ve practice vith our IS today?" asks Laura digging into her meal.

"Sure!" brightens up Ling.

"Ling, Shenlong is no longer available to be piloted at this time. You must wait until she is finished being constructed before being able to pilot. In addition to that, you should take it easy for another two or three days before piloting any IS for any considerable amount of time" states Caretaker.

"Ugh, you all kill me. Fine, whatever. I guess I'll just watch, unless even that is too much for me" grumbles Ling.

"Watching is suggested, but no more than an hour to an hour and a half" replies Caretaker emotionlessly.

"Whatever. I'll be ready to watch whenever you two are ready" grumbles Ling.

"Are you forgetting me?" comes another voice.

"Oh Houki, of course not. It would be fun to have all three of us practice" comes Ichika as he turns around and sees Houki.

Exiting fifteen minutes later from breakfast, later than almost the rest of the academy, the three participating pilots get dressed in their IS uniforms and activate their respective units.

"How would we like to go about this?" inquiries Ichika to the other two.

"I suggest a free for all, no shield regeneration, fifteen thousand maximum, last pilot and IS standing wins" comes Caretaker's voice into the three cockpits.

"I like it" grins an eager Laura.

"Sounds good to me" states Houki clenching and unclenching her fists a few times.

"Let's do it then" states Ichika.

Grinning, Laura zooms from her corner of the arena when the buzzer sounds to begin the match. Eager to test out her four railguns simultaneously, Laura deploys her two shoulder mounted ones before digistructing two identical ones for her arms. Leveling her arms at her two incoming opponents, Laura laughs as both railguns on each side fire, missing both Ichika and Houki.

"Warning, power reserves below 25 percent" chimes Schwarzer Regen.

"Vhat? Already?" exclaims Laura dismayed.

"Rapid and simultaneous discharging of all railguns is power intensive" answers Schwarzer Regen.

"Ugh, recharge then" states Laura using most of her remaining energy to blast out of the way of Ichika's and Houki's beginning sword fight.

"Approximately nine and a half minutes to half charge" states Schwarzer Regen.

Scanning over the Heads Up Display, Laura notices the elevated heart rate and begins to even out her breathing. Quickly looking through her available arsenal and only finding the railguns, Laura sighs, muttering something in German.

' _Wait, where's Laura?'_ thinks Houki looking around right before Ichika swings downwards with his sword.

Parrying, Houki keeps Ichika's sword from crashing down onto her, until being blown sideways quite a distance from a smiling Laura, both shoulder railguns pointed at her and Ichika.

"Oh my, did you forget about me?" taunts Laura from the other side of the field.

"Ichika! Let's get her!" shouts an enraged Houki, firing her boosters to quickly close the gap between her and Laura.

Swinging her sword down, Houki grunts as she keeps pushing towards Laura, who holds her off with ease.

"Oh my, looks like my AIC is vorking properly" teases Laura.

"LAURA!" shouts Ichika swinging downwards on Laura's unprotected side, her back to the wall of the arena.

"I REFUSE TO LOSE!" shouts Laura, charging her shoulder mounted railguns and discharging them at point blank range at Houki and Ichika, dropping her AIC right before the discharge.

As the sound of explosions reverberate around the arena, a cloud of dust impedes Ling's view of the battlefield, where the three pilots and their IS units sit on the ground, unmoving.

"Tie" announces Caretaker through the speaker system.

"Whaaaat?!" shouts Ling, jumping to her feet, barely missing the umbrella being held above her head.

"All three pilots and IS were knocked out in the same second. However, when calculated down to the millisecond, Miss Bodewig made contact with the wall first, and would be in third place, with Mr. Orimura having been knocked out by thirty six milliseconds later, with Miss Shinonono being the technical winner of being the last to be knocked out" states Caretaker.

"Wow" states Ling simply, sitting back down, sitting on the edge before relaxing when minutes later all three begin to move on the arena floor.

"That vas…disappointing" states Laura as she, Ichika, Ling, and Houki make their way back inside the building.

"I wouldn't say that. It was a grueling fight, especially with your ability to fire four railguns off at the same time" remarks Ichika.

"But that is all I have, minus my AIC. I need more veapons" states Laura.

"More weapons?! Geesh, don't you already have more firepower than the rest of us?" exclaims Houki.

"Vhile you're right I have more firepower, but a variety vould be nice. Vith a collection of veapons over nine thousand, I'm certain I can find something new to use" answers Laura.

"But have you seen the cost of some of those weapons, they are fairly high" remarks Ichika.

"Vell, I have some requisition funds I can spend on some new veapons" adds Laura.

*yawn* "Glad to hear that someone is finally looking into buying a license for some of the weapons. But just to let you know, some if not most of the original prices for the guns were MUCH higher" adds a voice from behind them.

"You're awake so soon?" inquiries Ling confused as she turns around.

"Yeah, it doesn't take too much sleep to get me back up and running again" answers Gaige.

"Vhat do you mean, 'much higher'?" asks Laura.

"Oh, some of those used to be twenty thousand or more dollars apiece, so a thousand dollars apiece isn't nearly so bad" answers Gaige.

"When do you thin Shenlong will be ready?" asks Ling anxiously.

"I'd guess after dinner this evening" answers Gaige as the five of them sit down to lunch.

Hours later of hearing nothing, Ling goes to bed, clearly disappointed in the fact that Shenlong nor Gaige had appeared. Deep into system checks and one last final check of all mechanical systems, Gaige wipes a hand across her brow before Harbinger's mechanical voice comes from across the compartment, "France has officially chosen its Representative IS Pilot."

"And let me guess, it's Charlotte Dunois" answers Gaige before taking a couple swallows of water from a nearby glass.

"Correct. French records indicate that this is a recent change but the presence of a fourth generation unit seemed to be one of the most influential pieces to helping her soar above the others that were nominated" answers Harbinger.

"Well, no matter how she got the position, I am glad that she won" states Gaige before a clanging sound and a string of curses is heard from Gaige's position.

The next morning, Ling slowly sits up, rubbing her eyes, before looking up at the machine looming over her bed. Hearing an ear piercing shriek, Gaige sits up and asks slightly slurring her words, "Whas happning?"

"There's this thing hanging over my bed!" exclaims Ling, back up against the door to the hallway.

Blinking in confusion for a few seconds, Gaige stops and looks at the figure for multiple seconds before bursting out laughing. "Sorry roomie, I decided to play a joke on you. That's Shenlong, just powered down. She's ready to pilot. Thought it might be an interesting thing to wake up to over your bed."

"You're mean!" shouts Ling.

"Don't worry, if something or someone was trying to kill you, Caretaker in the corner over there would have alerted us in addition to the rest of the machines that we were under attack. From eleven pm to five in the morning, Dozer and Yurika patrol the halls just in case of any intruders" answers Gaige smiling.

"What is the commotion all about!" demands Chifuyu, forcefully opening the door, causing Ling to stumble, but catch herself.

"I-I woke up and saw something over my bed. It was just Shenlong" answers Ling.

"Don't screech again unless you're dying" states Chifuyu giving both of the girls a hard stare, before exiting the room.

Waiting several seconds after Chifuyu had left the room, Ling asks quietly, "Does this mean that Shenlong can be piloted now?"

"Certainly. But don't push yourself too hard, you don't need to end up in the hospital because you overdid it again" states Gaige, concern laced throughout her voice.

"You're no fun" retorts Ling, sticking her tongue out.

"And think about what Ichika would think if you landed in the hospital. Would he want a girlfriend who keeps landing herself in the hospital or someone like Laura who is much more independent and able to keep herself in great condition?" answers Gaige smirking.

Silence falls between the two before Ling quietly answers, "Maybe you're right."

"And maybe I'm creating scenarios to help you think more long term about what you're doing instead of just focusing on the here and now" answers Gaige kindly as she gets up and gives Ling a few soft pats on the back.

Jumping up from her bed, Ling declares with a smile, "What are we waiting for? Let's go down to breakfast and get some practice in!"

Half an hour later the two of them make their way to the smallest arena, and Ling activates Shenlong, jumping for joy in the responsiveness of the activation.

"Now Ling, please try moving around the arena at varying speeds, like you would in a normal fight. Shenlong will tone down the top speed to the maximum you can handle mentally so you aren't overwhelmed every time you engage the boosters" calls out Gaige standing on the arena floor.

"Boosters?! I have boosters?!"

"Yes, all fourth generation units have boosters, which can fire for longer or shorter based on the weight, what you tell it to do, the direction, and the amount of charge you have in the battery" answers Gaige.

"Awesome! Now I can finally kick Laura's ass and show everyone else how strong I am!" announces Ling confidently.

"Let's begin with getting you and Shenlong tuned up and matched up nicely before talking about taking on other students currently" states Gaige firmly as she helps Ling and Shenlong get attuned.

A week or so later, Ichika rolls over, or attempts to when he feels another pair of legs in his way. Eyes opening, Ichika sees a splash of silvery hair under the sheets, and quickly exits the bed, covering his eyes.

"Morning already?" yawns Laura.

' _Please don't be naked, please don't be naked, please don't be naked'_ chants Ichika internally.

"And look Ichika! I'm not entirely naked this morning" exclaims Laura with glee.

Peeking through his hands, Ichika relaxes his hands when he finds that Laura is in fact wearing a shirt and shorts, but not much more than that.

"I have a question. Can ve go to this?" asks Laura quietly, holding up a flyer.

Looking over the poster, Ichika smiles and answers, "Sure. I'll ask the others—"

*thunk* *thunk* as two knives are embedded on either side of Ichika's head as Laura storms out of the room.

"Wh-what did I do?" stutters Ichika.

"You upset a female who desires you to be her boyfriend" answers the rumbling sound of Sentinel from the corner of the room, stepping out into the light.

Pausing to think about this, Ichika answers, "Oh boy, I'm in for it now, aren't I?"

"I wouldn't put it past her" answers Sentinel.

* * *

Author note: Thanks to all who have read, favorited, followed, etc. My inbox has been getting email alerts every few days thanks to you all. :) If any of you all read any of my other fanfics, other than Unseen and Unheard From, you might realize that there haven't been updates in a while for the others. I assure you that I am in fact working on getting some chapters written, but with the busy season, I do have limited time and energy to achieve such things. This will be the last chapter for January, 2016.


	15. The Slippery Slope

Beta: None

Original release date: 3/5/2016

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Infinite Stratos or Borderlands universes. AU

Author note: This is where I begin using more language to continue the M rating. :)

* * *

Chapter Fifteen – The Slippery Slope

"He frustrates me" states Laura as she shifts in her seat.

"Then why do you bother with flirting with him?" asks Gaige as she works on a loader bot that was just constructed.

Pausing to think, Laura answers quietly, "He saved me, despite being nasty to him. Nothing but nice to me…"

As the humming dies down from the Constructor, Gaige walks over to the thin television that had been constructed and places it on a small table before connecting it to an outlet.

"Vhy do you keep constructing things like a television?" inquiries Laura curiously.

"Because this tv doubles as a monitor for anything that is connected to the Vault Hunting Network" answers Gaige.

"Vhat are you talking about?" asks Laura with a look of confusion on her face.

The fourth generation IS units that I've designed use the standard wireless spectrum that normal IS units use when forced to, but otherwise operate on a separate set of bands that allow for further distance communication and information relaying, such as 42 being able to inform me of his location in Antarctica, despite being far enough away from any settlement. While this alone does not make up the Vault Hunting Network, it also uses various means of security to verify the transmission of any and all messages received over the spectrum. Because the network equipment is more advanced than the other network equipment that is available on Earth, it is the backbone of the IS units communication in addition to other functions, such as weapon licenses" answers Gaige.

"Oh—" begins Laura before the television pops to life with a mustached and shirtless man appears on the screen.

"ON WHEELS OF EXPLOSIONS, WE'LL FIND OUT IF THIS GUN LOADER WILL EXPLODE WHEN WE *clacking sound of a wheel rotating* BLOW IT UP USING A…TEDIORE ROCKET LAUNCHER?! GET THAT SHIT OUTTA HERE, TORGUE ROCKET LAUNCHERS ARE SUPERIOR!" exclaims a male voice.

"Vho's that?" inquiries Laura watching the screen.

"That's Mr. Torgue" answers Gaige smiling.

"Vait a minute, that sounds familiar" wonders Laura out loud.

"Yes, Torgue is a brand of weapons that fourth generation IS units can buy a license for and utilize. They are known for making wonderful explosions" remarks Gaige continuing to watch the screen intently.

"Are they powerful?" inquiries Laura.

"Why don't we go try some out?" suggests Gaige.

"Really?!" exclaims Laura excitedly.

Turning around and beginning to leave the compartment, the two girls stop as a lone male stands awkwardly in the hallway, hands in his pocket.

Laura harrumphs before sticking her nose into the air and turning her back to Ichika. Rolling her eyes, Gaige takes a few steps forward and says, "Ichika, I need to talk to you."

"Uh, I, uh, would like to talk to you both" stammers Ichika.

"I get to talk to you first, alone. Then you can talk with Laura and I" states Gaige, hands on her hips.

Leading Ichika a little ways away but still clearly visible to Laura, Gaige stops and begins quietly, "Ichika, Laura is upset with you."

"Yeah, I know. It has something to do with the water park flyer she showed me, right?" asks Ichika with a touch of nervousness in his voice.

"Mmhmm. She just wanted it to be you and her. Then saying that you were going to invite the rest of us, you killed her dream" answers Gaige.

Hanging his head, Ichika answers quietly, "Sentinel alluded to that earlier."

"Hehe, he is a self-learning AI, so that doesn't surprise me" chuckles Gaige.

Opening his mouth to speak, Ichika is interrupted by Gaige, "But you need to learn something about women. We don't like being led on, so you should watch whatever you do and say because as someone once said, 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.' Now, let's rejoin Laura."

Walking back to where a stoic Laura stands, arms crossed, Gaige stands beside Laura while Ichika stands nervously across from them.

"Um, I was wondering if you two would like to attend a day at the water park, for memories before classes resume on Monday" asks Ichika awkwardly.

Turning to Laura, Gaige asks, "Should we grace Ichika with our presence, despite you wanting to do this alone with him?"

Staring at Ichika for several long seconds, Laura exhales and answers, "Fine, I shall go, but only if you do Gaige."

Putting her hands on her hips, Gaige responds, "I suppose it won't kill me to go out and get some fresh air."

"Great! We'll meet in front of the academy at eight thirty" states Ichika before dashing off.

"Vell, this should be interesting" remarks Laura.

"I agree, especially if—WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE COMING WITH US?!" exclaims Gaige turning to face the compartment.

"Just as I stated, you need to be more careful when not on academy grounds" answers Yurika as she steps out into the hallway.

Rolling her eyes, Gaige states, "Fine, you can come along then. You do have a point."

Looking between Yurika and Gaige regarding the inaudible conversation, Laura asks curiously, "Vhat is happening?"

"Essentially Yurika is coming to the water park with us tomorrow because despite all of us being IS pilots, we might need some protection. Something about being paranoid or whatever" answers Gaige with a tone of frustration in her voice.

"You are somewhat correct, but you also must consider that because you are a figurehead for Vault Hunting Enterprise LLC and being held captive or killed would destroy the company" states Yurika.

Sighing Gaige remarks, "I'll be fine, besides Death Trap is with me."

"Death Trap should not be the only trick up your sleeve. And while you have a mini constructor, the battery is not meant for arduous and lengthy combat phases."

"I can always carry a sniper rifle and assault rifle with me-" begins Gaige.

"And get stopped for illegal open carrying of firearms, landing you in jail at the minimum. This is why you shouldn't try to argue with me and just go along with my decision to accompany you and the others to the park" interrupts Yurika.

"Jeez. Caretaker, go fetch three dozen doughnuts, one of the dozen being standard glazed and a mix on whatever looks good for the other two dozen" instructs Gaige, hand to her left ear.

"Vhy doughnuts?"

"Because why not?" responds Gaige before disappearing into one of her occupied compartments.

Meanwhile in an arena, Houki and Ling keep their skills sharp by fighting in hand to hand combat in their respective IS units. Zipping around in Shenlong, Ling and Houki keep intense pressure upon one another to not slow down or risk being hit.

"Hey Houki, Ling, I'd like to talk to you" calls out Ichika with a hint of nervousness.

Halting their grueling match, the two girl descend and exit their IS units. "Yes, Ichika?" demands Houki, hands on her hips.

"Well, you see, I was hoping you two would like to come with me to the water park tomorrow" Ichika finally blurts out.

"What for?" demands Houki.

"Well, tomorrow is the last day of our summer break, so I thought it might be nice to make some memories together" answers Ichika.

"What time are we meeting?" asks Ling grabbing the drink Shenlong holds out to her.

"Eight thirty tomorrow morning, in front of the academy" states Ichika.

"I'll be there" states Houki adamantly, glancing briefly at Ling.

"If she's going then I'm going too" states Ling glancing over at Houki, resulting in a chorus of harrumphs from both ladies.

"Uh, great! I'll see you in the morning then" calls out Ichika as he jogs away.

Minutes later Ichika knocks on a door and seconds later a girl with a shock of long blonde hair and blue eyes appears, face instantly softening at the sight of Ichika. Opening the door wider, Cecilia beckons and ushers him inside.

"Ichika dear, how may I help you?" inquiries Cecilia curiously as she closes the door behind him.

"Yes. I want to know if you'll come with me to the water park tomorrow to create some memories" answers Ichika.

Eyes widening in surprise, Cecilia clutches onto Ichika's left arm with a smile and answers, "Of course dear, anything for you. What time do we meet at?"

"Eight thirty in the morning in front of the academy. Does that sound good to you?" answers Ichika nervously.

"Sounds good to me. Now…is there anything else I can help you with?" asks Cecilia asks seductively.

"No, I, uh have to go. Thanks Cecilia" rushes Ichika exiting the room.

Smiling as the door closes behind Ichika, Cecilia gracefully falls onto her bed, wonders out loud, 'Ichika wants to spend time with me at a water park. I just knew he had taken a fancy to me. But what to wear tomorrow' before jumping to her feet and rummaging through her clothes and swimsuits.

Walking down the deserted hallway, Ichika makes a turn and runs into Charlotte, causing her to fall on her rear.

"I'm sorry Charlotte, let me help you up" offers Ichika with his right hand outstretched.

Grabbing the offered hand, Charlotte gets to her feet before stating in an upset tone, "How rude to run into a lady."

"I'm so sorry Charlotte. But I'm glad that I've found you, as I've been looking for you" answers Ichika.

Demeanor changing almost instantly at this declaration of Ichika looking for her, Charlotte asks curiously, "Why were you looking for me?"

"I uh, wanted to see if you wanted to go with me to the water park that just opened" answers Ichika bumbling a bit.

Smiling, Charlotte responds, "I certainly would love to, Ichika. When and where will we meet?"

"Eight thirty tomorrow morning in front of the academy" answers Ichika relieved.

"I'll be there!" chirps Charlotte before skipping down the hall.

'Ichika asked me on a date. Not the most romantic place, but it's a step in the right direction' Charlotte thinks to herself, blushing at the thought of being with Ichika.

* * *

/*the next morning*/

Quietly leaving Caretaker and Ling in the room, still somewhat dark, Gaige makes her way out of the room she and Ling share and soon enters the shared space that Harbinger and Brain guard alongside Dozer and Yurika.

"So what exactly is the plan? I know Yurika is coming with me to guard me, so I'd assume the rest of you all would remain here and be on standby just in case another set of rogue individuals appear. But knowing you all, there has to be something else" asks Gaige grabbing a chocolate covered doughnut with rainbow sprinkles and taking a bite.

"Correct. We have decided that SU should make her way with you. This is in an effort to prevent anyone from drowning" answers Harbinger.

Turning to a darkened corner of the compartment, Gaige asks as she raises her voice, "And how do YOU feel about this, SU?"

Stepping out from the corner and joining her fellow machines, SU replies, "I feel that this is in the best interest of everyone. While Yurika is quite capable, she is unable to provide oxygen to any drowning member of the party. I feel that I am best suited for such a potential situation."

"That makes some sense. So Yurika, SU, and I will be going then. Has 42 reported any updates regarding location changes or finishing up his research?" inquiries Gaige.

"No updates" answers Brain.

"Thanks. I'll take my leave to go wait for the others outside. Besides it's not too bad out currently" states Gaige grabbing the three boxes of doughnuts before exiting and heading towards the front of the academy.

Sitting down on the stairs, Gaige eats a few more doughnuts, washing them down with cold and refreshing water. Minutes later Laura arrives on location, pausing slightly at the sight of SU and Yurika standing beside a large and dark red cooler.

"Vhat is vith the container over there?" asks Laura curiously.

"Drinks and I have some doughnuts here" answers Gaige as she opens a nearby box of doughnuts and holds it towards Laura.

Selecting a near perfectly glazed doughnut, Laura takes a bit humming at the delicious taste. "This is vonderful! I have more!" declares Laura quickly finishing her first and taking another.

A few minutes later Houki and Ling arrive, shocked at the sight of Gaige and Laura talking amicably eating doughnuts and having a drink of water.

"What are you all doing here?!" exclaims Ling loudly

"It makes sense now…" mutters Houki.

"We are here for the same reason you are, and that's to go to the water park with Ichika for having fun" answers Gaige.

"But why are they joining us?" demands Ling pointing at SU and Yurika.

"To save you when you begin to drown again" replies SU dryly, tone becoming more humanlike.

Going through her small bag, Gaige pulls out a small bottle of aloe and hands it to Ling saying, "I think you might need this by the end of the day."

Chuckling, Laura pauses as a bewildered Charlotte appears, eliciting another round of chuckles from both her and Gaige.

"I'm going on a date with Ichika and it's going to be oh so—" sings Cecilia as she turns the corner and arrives at the meeting location and sees the other girls.

"What are you all doing here?!" exclaims Cecilia angrily.

"They are awaiting the arrival of Ichika such as yourself, to go to the water park and have fun" states Yurika, deploying an assault rifle pointed towards the ground.

"Sorry I'm late everyone" declares Ichika jogging into view, oblivious to the angry looks being radiated off from some of the girls.

* * *

Author note: Thanks to all who have read, reviewed, etc. Work has kept me quite busy, especially with overnight programming jobs (which do help pay the bills, considering I am living on my own now). I am attempting to get more of my fanfics into the rotation of being updated, with only Unseen and Unheard From, my Harry Potter fanfic, with constant updates (as you try writing a complete series rewrite). I apparently skipped over the OVA for the first season. Do you all want me to try to work the element of the girls stopping by his house into the series or should I just skip it altogether?


	16. The Trip to the Water Park

Beta: None

Original release date: 12/18/2016

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Infinite Stratos or Borderlands universes. AU

Author note: This covers the extended version of episode one of season two, as a warning.

* * *

Chapter Sixteen – The Trip to the Water Park

"Uh, miss, you can't bring robots into the park" states a park worker, staring at Yurika.

"Non-negotiable. Entrance will be achieved" answers Yurika firmly.

"She's easily spotted, so if she gets into trouble, I'll stop her" answers Gaige walking through the gate after placing her entrance fee on the counter.

The rest follow behind Gaige, SU, and Yurika, quietly paying their admission fee, before heading to the changing rooms. Looking around, Gaige points to a deserted spot by the Lazy River with an umbrella and promptly takes control. Gaige opens the umbrella, applies sunscreen, before laying down on the chair and putting her goggles on, protecting her eyes from the vicious sun. Setting down the cooler, Yurika wordlessly turns to SU for a few seconds before taking up a stance behind Gaige while SU plods off towards the wave pool portion.

"You're not going to swim?" inquiries Yurika continuing her vigil.

"A day of not exerting myself I think is what is best" answers Gaige sleepily.

"Understood" remarks Yurika scanning the sky neutrally.

* * *

/*elsewhere at the newly opened water park*/

"Oh Ichika darling, let's begin our wonderful day with a leisurely ride down the Lazy River" states Cecilia somewhat hurriedly, pulling on the crook of Ichika's left arm, leading him towards the slowly flowing body of water.

"What about everyone else?" asks Ichika looking around.

"Gaige said she's going to sit it out and relax, and the others went to the wave pool, so we're on our own" Cecilia fires back quickly.

"O-oh, ok" answers Ichika hesitantly before retrieving the inflated inner tube from Cecilia's offered hands and jumping as gracefully as he can into the pool, followed by Cecilia onto the inner tube before being pushed by Ichika before the current begins to sweep them away.

Minutes later Ling, Houki, Charlotte, Laura exit the changing room, each holding an inflated pool toy in their hands. "Where is Cecilia?" inquiries Charlotte, looking around for the British blonde.

All four begin to search around for Cecilia before an angry look crosses Laura's face and she says, "She probably snuck off to get vith Ichika before ve changed", gripping her inflatable tightly enough to puncture it, air slowly slipping out.

"Let's split into pairs and find them, and teach her a lesson" declares Ling balling up her fists.

Breaking off into pairs of Houki and Ling, Laura and Charlotte, the four disperse into the vast park, searching for their hopeful boyfriend, Ichika.

* * *

/*near the wave pool*/

Scanning the wave pool for signs of someone drowning, SU moves her head a few centimeters to the left before accelerating forward and into the deepest portion of the pool. Spotting an large orange object enter the pool, one of the life guards blows their whistle, with the waves gradually slowing before coming to a complete stop just as SU emerges from the water. Being quickly surrounded by park officials, SU disengages the Atmospheric Retention Fields, revealing an young and unconscious male swimmer, a tube snaked from inside SU to the boy's face, covering the nose and mouth.

"You all should be ashamed of yourselves. This boy could have drowned, and possibly would have if I hadn't intervened" chastised SU before pausing for several moments then removing the air tube as the boy begins to awaken.

"Wh-what are you?" stutters a life guard.

"She's an Artificial Intelligence infused prototype Infinite Stratos unite with the capability to extract oxygen from water and provide it to a pilot or occupant in this case" remarks Gaige walking up to SU, Yurika following behind.

"Young lady, you aren't supposed to be here. This is official park business" states a female life guard coming up to Gaige.

"I'm part of the two person team that created and maintains SU, the orange Infinite Stratos that saved the boy over there" answers Gaige crossing her arms.

"You can't think that we'd believe that crock of nonsense" scoffs the female life guard.

"While I was designed and programmed by another, my current 'master' is Miss Gaige Smith, the young lady you are scoffing at and trying to belittle" remarks SU turning to face the life guard standing in front of Gaige.

"Do not place your hands on Gaige" growls Yurika stepping between the life guard and Gaige.

"And what's this?!" exclaims the life guard taking several steps back from Yurika.

"I am an AI named Yurika, protector of Gaige" answers Yurika.

"Yurika, SU, I don't want any trouble to be caused, so back off and please let me do the talking until I ask for your input" states Gaige firmly looking at the two AI before turning to the other life guards, "I do believe SU and Yurika have explained everything, so if everything is in order, I believe we three shall take our leave."

"Wait a minute young lady, I'd like to have a word with you in my office, please" requests a middle aged and clean shaven man.

"And who might you be, if you don't mind me asking" answers Gaige turning the newest addition of the group of people.

"I am the manager of this park, Mr. Gomaru, and this incident has piqued my curiosity in addition to needing to do some paperwork. If you don't mind, please follow me" remarks the gentleman.

"I'm bringing Yurika and SU along with me then" answers Gaige starting to follow.

"I'd enjoy that, so please do" encourages Mr. Gomaru with a smile before walking away.

* * *

/*elsewhere in the park*/

"Found her!" exclaims Laura executing a partial deployment and firing one of her wire guided daggers, ensnaring Cecilia around her abdomen and briefly pulling her into the water before pulling her out of the water like a hooked fish.

"Start talking! Vhy vhere you vith Ichika" demands Laura, hands on her hips staring down at the bound Cecilia.

"Because…because…you all were taking so long getting changed. Yes, that's why, so I went on ahead with Ichika" answers Cecilia nervously.

"But Cecilia, you told me that everyone else had gone on to the wave pool" remarks Ichika confused as he walks up to the gaggle of girls, still holding Cecilia's inner tube.

"Why don't we all just cool down and take turns with the couple's slide, but with Cecilia getting to go last?" offers Charlotte attempting to calm everyone's ire at Cecilia.

"Uh, what did you say, Charl?" remarks Ichika confused.

"That sounds like an excellent idea, but since I'm Ichika's oldest childhood friend, I should go first" states Houki straightening her back and smiling.

"Vell, he is mine bride, so he should ride vith me first" states Laura glaring at Houki with her one visible eye.

"How about you all figure it out while we walk to the slide?" suggests Ichika somewhat wearily.

Walking for several minutes while leading the way, Ichika stops at the beginning of the couple's slide, resulting in the five girls following him to subsequently run into him and each other.

"You should warn us when ya stop, Ichika!" exclaims Ling in mock anger.

Sighing, Ichika turns around and asks to the girls, "So whom am I doing this…ride with first?"

"I am" answers Charlotte stepping forward, seemingly obviously to the looks being sent her way from the remaining four girls.

Walking up to the attendant at the start of the slide, Ichika and Charlotte pauses as the female attendant blows a bubble with her before popping it and beginning, "Welcome to the couple's slide. The guy sits down first on the slide, then the girl sits in between his legs. Then wrap your hands and arms around her middle and ya gotta be close. No, that's all wrong, you've gotta be close enough that she feels the heat radiating off of your body, and that your arms are wrapped around her like you enjoy being close to her."

Wrapping his arms around Charlotte even tighter, Ichika asks, "Like this?"

"Perfect. Now…enjoy" answers the attendant, pushing them down the slide.

"AHH!" choruses Charlotte and Ichika as they zoom down the tube, making tight turns, water rushing up and hitting them in the face as light flashes by with covered and uncovered sections of tube. Exiting the slide and into a several foot deep section of pool, Ichika gets out of the water and looks around and after several seconds locates Charlotte, glaring at Ichika as she strides away and back towards the top of the slide.

A dozen or so more trips down the slide with an equal spread of trips with each girl, Ichika finally says, "Alright, I'm done. This has been very tiring day, and I'm ready to do something less tedious or go back to the academy" as he looks to the sky and sees the sun beginning to descend towards the horizon.

"Vell, there is a festival vith free Yukata rentals later…" offers Laura suggestively.

Pausing to think, Ichika finally replies with the five girls hanging onto each word, "I don't see why not. One last celebration before the new term begins. We just need to get Gaige—"

"I'm right here" answers a wearily female voice from a little ways away.

"Let's get going back to the academy then" remarks Ling leading the way out of the amusement park.

Half an hour or so later, the group arrives back at the academy and begins to split off, heading back to their respective rooms. As Gaige begins to head to her room, Ichika says, "Gaige, in a bit all of us are going to a festival in town. Are you interested?"

Turning around, Gaige shakes her head before answering, "I've got a lot of stuff to do, so I have to decline", before resuming her walk. Several minutes later after changing, Gaige heads to the compartments on the lowest level of the academy where Yurika, Harbinger, and the others were waiting.

"So what's this 'emergency' that you declined to elaborate on earlier?" demands Gaige turning on the lights.

"We listened in to a conversation between Chifuyu and another person about how an IS has been stolen from a heavily guarded military base in England. An IS that Cecilia was originally planned to be the pilot of" answers Brain.

"And this constitutes an emergency how?" asks Gaige confused.

"The information known about the unit, Silent Zephyrs, is essentially unknown, despite our information gathering. Tabane has also gone quiet for the past several days, and add in the mysterious unit that armed the Moonshot Cannon and hasn't been heard or seen from, and things aren't in the best of conditions in the way of global security. All standard issue IS units are unable to achieve regenerative shielding or be operated without a pilot. Add in the scrutiny from countries regarding Vault Hunting Enterprise LLC's AI control capable IS units and the result is possible issues with the law or even flat out rejection of our technology" answers Harbinger.

"Anyways, the park would like six AI controlled units to help monitor various sections of the park for potential drowning park goers and rescue them. We have approximately two months to fulfill their entire order, so we need to get to work…" states Gaige looking around the two compartments she had commandeered from the academy.

* * *

/*at the festival*/

"You girls look stunning" remarks Ichika looking over the five girls in their rented Yukata's.

"Why thank you Ichika darling" answers Cecilia flushing at the compliment.

"Well, I'll let you ladies lead me to wherever you'd like go" offers Ichika looking at each of the girls.

With a chorus of squealing excitement, the ladies grab ahold of Ichika by the arms and begin drag him to the various booths containing both food and activities. "Ooh, I want to try this one, Ichika" remarks Charlotte leading Ichika over to covered structure with a square pond containing dozens of goldfish.

"Teach me how to do this, Ichika" requests Charlotte giving an ever so slight stare at the other girls before smiling sweetly at Ichika.

Paying the 100 yen to play, Ichika grabs one of the provided nets with a flat sheet of paper acting as the net before dipping it into the water and then quickly raising it when a goldfish swims above the net. Half a second after the net surfaces, it breaks releasing the fish back into the pond.

"Well Charlotte, that's how you play, although it is tough to actually win" remarks Ichika with an apologetic smile on his face.

"It's alright, I appreciate the lesson anyways" answers Charlotte before handing an attendant 100 yen and quickly running the offered net through the water and catching a goldfish on her first try.

"I knew you could do it, Charlotte" says Ichika congratulating her and giving her a brief pat on the back, resulting in her face becoming briefly flushed.

Half an hour or so later the group of six arrive at a shooting gallery and Cecilia remarks, "This ought to be a breeze for such an experienced markswoman such as myself", before paying the fee and entering into a crouching stance and aiming her cap gun.

"I vant that cat" mutters Laura staring at a two and a half foot tall cat statue across from her in the shooting range.

"Ya know we can help, if you're willing to accept it" remarks Ling.

"Ja, vhatever. I just vant the cat, and to be alone vith Ichika" Laura says, quietly adding the last portion to herself.

Lining up, the five girls aim their cap guns at the cat statue, firing in rapid but orderly succession, with Laura firing last. Rocking back and forth, the statue finally falls onto a padded mat resulting in Laura standing up and grinning while the attendant hands her the prize.

Congratulating everyone, Ichika says, "It's getting late. Let's view the fireworks and head back to the academy."

Half an hour later, the group of six head back to the academy and quietly tuck themselves into bed, not wanting the day to end and not eager to get up early the next morning when classes resume.

* * *

Author note: Thanks for reading, reviewing, following, etc! Yes, updates have been slow, but real life is busy for me, so unfortunately updates will take a while. Although, once I get to the end of the series, I've got something planned that I think might excite some. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone and thanks for sticking around with me (more updates ARE planned). :)


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